Squash would be present at The World Games in 2025, Chengdu, following the confirmation of sports at The World Games AGM in Madrid last week.
The World Games was an international multi-sport competition comprising sports that were not contested in the Olympic Games and would be held in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, from August 7 to 17, 2025, said a press release.
Squash was a mainstay of The World Games and has been a part of every edition since Lahti 1997, with the exception of Akita in 2001.
In 2021, Malaysian squash legend Nicol David was named as The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time, while last year’s men’s winner Victor Crouin of France finished 8/23 in the race for The World Games Athlete of The Year and women’s champion Tinne Gilis of Belgium was named The World Games Athlete of the Month for April 2023.
Both Crouin, who upset compatriot and top seed Gregoire Marche to win the men’s title in Birmingham, Alabama last year, and Gilis, who got the better of England’s Lucy Beecroft in the women’s final, will no doubt be eager to defend their titles in Chengdu.
Squash was on the rise in China, with prestigious events such as the 2018 WSF Women’s World Team Championship taking place in Dalian.
Speaking on squash’s inclusion in The World Games 2025, WSF President Zena Wooldridge said, “We are delighted at World Squash to see squash as part of the programme for Chengdu 2025. The World Games is such an important part of squash’s global calendar, providing the very special experience of multi-sport games.”
“The growth of squash in China is sure to be energised over the next few years with valuable exposure during the Asian Games later this year followed by the World Games in Chengdu in 2025. We are grateful to the IWGA and to Chengdu for giving squash and its top players this opportunity to be part of major multi-sport games.”
