Paderborn & Pontefract Lift European Club Titles In Linz

Paderborn and Pontefract, squash clubs from Germany and England, respectively, lifted the European Club Championships titles in style at the Union Sportcenter in the Austrian city of Linz.

Paderborn clinched the men's trophy for the fifth time in six years - with team stalwart Tim Garner, the former world No26 from England, making his sixth successive appearance for the club in the annual championships as Paderborn beat Danish club Odense 4/0.

Third string Garner, 38, from London, played his part in the win, beating Dane Kim Poulsen 11-4, 11-6, 13-11, while German team members Oliver Post and Simon Rosner, a former European Junior champion, also overcame Danish opponents.

But the top string clash saw an all-Malaysian encounter between Ong Beng Hee and Mohd Azlan Iskandar - ranked 10 and 11, respectively, in the world. And it was Beng Hee that prevailed, beating his national rival 12-10, 11-6, 11-6.

The women's championship also reached a notable climax as Yorkshire club Pontefract celebrated their seventh consecutive appearance in the final - with Rebecca Botwright, from Manchester, playing a part in each of the campaigns!

Indeed the now-retired 26-year-old - like Garner, a one-time world No26 - scored the decisive victory as Pontefract beat defending champions L'Hermine de Rennes 2/1.

Squad number one Vanessa Atkinson, the Yorkshire-based former world champion from the Netherlands, put Pontefract ahead with an 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 victory over WISPA World Tour rival Isabelle Stoehr, from France. Dutch player Annelize Naude levelled the tie after beating Pontefract stalwart Lauren Siddall in five tense games, before Botwright clinched Pontefract's third title in six years with an 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 win over Italian Sonia Pasteris.

Men's Final:
PADERBORN bt ODENSE 4-0
Ong Beng Hee bt Mohd Azlan Iskandar 12-10, 11-6, 11-6
Simon Rosner bt Rasmus Nielsen 7-11, 11-8, 11-4
Tim Garner bt Kim Poulsen 11-4, 11-6, 13-11
Oliver Post bt Michael Hansen 11-6, 11-9

Women's Final:
PONTEFRACT bt L'HERMINE DE RENNES 2-1
Vanessa Atkinson bt Isabelle Stoehr 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
Lauren Siddall lost to Annelize Naude 12-10, 6-11, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11
Rebecca Botwright bt Sonia Pasteris 11-6, 11-7, 11-7