Ryan leads the way

Ireland opened their World Team Squash Championship campaign in Malaysia yesterday with a 2-1 victory over Austria in the first of their three Pool F matches. Twenty-year-old Patrick Foster, the Manchester-born player who declared for Ireland two years ago, clinched the match in the final game on court with a 3-0 win over Wallis Rothbacher.

Derek Ryan, the Irish number one, had put the team 1-0 up by beating Clemens Wallishauser in straight sets but Chris Collins' defeat, by a similar score, to Gerhard Schedlbauer squared the tie.

Both Collins' brothers, Chris and Maurice, the fourth member of the squad, have been suffering from stomach bugs in recent days but Maurice is expected to replace Foster in the line-up for today's match against Brazil. The Irish, who are ranked 19th in the championships, will expect to beat the Brazilians, making tomorrow's meeting with Hong Kong the potential Pool decider.

Men's World Team Championships (at Kuala Lumpur) - Pool F: Ireland 2, Austria 1 (D Ryan bt C Wallishauser 10-8, 9-4, 9-3; C Collins lost to G Schedlbauer 2-9, 4-9, 7-9; P Foster bt W Rothbacher 10-8, 9-6, 9-0).

Full results in Sports Round-up