Teams champs are her swansong

Kaitaia's Shelley Kitchen is looking forward to a change in pace after next week's 2010 Women's World Team Squash Championships, when she will retire from the international squash scene.
It is the 30-year-old former World No 6's first international tournament since the birth of her daughter Amalia in February and it will also be her last as she embarks on her new life of motherhood and making time for herself.
"I decided to retire internationally when I found out I was pregnant. I played at the New Zealand Open last year when I was 14 weeks pregnant and also committed to competing at the Commonwealth Games because I thought I could do it.
"I started playing again three weeks after giving birth but fell sick mid-July (with pleurisy) and had to withdraw from the Games team ... I tried everything I could to come back for the Games but I probably tried too much," she said.
While obviously disappointed she could not contest the singles, even more gutting was letting down her women's doubles partner Jacklyn Hawkes and mixed doubles partner Campbell Grayson.
Kitchen also agreed to play at the World Teams event in Palmerston North for the New Zealand team while she was pregnant. She decided to make it her last international campaign and she's determined to make a mark at the champs as NZ bid for a maiden world title.
"I am looking forward to this tournament and have enjoyed the preparation and I could keep playing squash internationally, but I feel I have achieved what I wanted to in squash, and I don't necessarily want that lifestyle for Amalia - alway being on the road and away training all the time dragging her around courts. I just want to concentrate on motherhood for now - I also might go back to studying education by correspondence now that I will have more time. I have already done a few papers."
Confident she is back to full strength, Kitchen joins Commonwealth Games women's doubles gold medallists Jacklyn Hawkes, Joelle King and Games women's doubles silver medallist Tamsyn Leevey for the six-day tournament starting on Monday, held at SquashGym Palmerston North and The International Pacific College (IPC).
Coached by Kitchen's fiance and Squash New Zealand's High Performance manager Anthony Ricketts, the women have been in camp this week in preparation for the tournament.
"The national squad have been training intensely for the last month and the camp with the girls this week has been good - it has been going well.
"Anthony has been cracking the whip," Kitchen said.
Seeded fifth among the 16 teams competing, the Kiwi women have a good chance of topping their pool.
That's assuming they can beat minnows Canada on Monday, then Hong Kong on Tuesday and back up their performance by toppling fourth seeds Malaysia on Wednesday.