Commonwealth Games 2022: Joelle King overcomes major scare against Lucy Turmel in squash quarter-finals

Joelle King. Photo / Getty

Joelle King has overcome a titanic tussle in the quarter-finals of the women's squash singles, needing to dig deep to see off England's Lucy Turmel.

The Kiwi flagbearer's 9-11 18-16 11-9 14-12 win understates how hard she had to battle, and how she shockingly nearly gave the second game away in a marathon encounter.

The world No 28, Turmel sprung a surprise winning the first game 11-9 against the world No 5 King, but normal service looked to have resumed when King went up 10-3 in the second game.

However, 22-year-old Turmel remarkably won the next seven points, and staved off 10 game balls in a 28-minute game that saw King lose her cool, getting visibly frustrated with the umpire.

The game finally ended in the Kiwi's favour with King letting out a yell of delight, and it looked as if that could have broken Turmel's spirit, but she was a Brit who didn't quit.

Even after losing the third game 11-9, Turmel put up another big fight in the fourth game, coming back from three points down before saving three match balls.

She even had a chance to take the game when up 12-11 but didn't get a crucial let decision go her way, and throughout the match a few unforced errors ultimately proved the Brit's undoing, with King's greater consistency seeing her advance, but not without a huge fight.

The 2018 gold medallist's semifinal is at 3am on Wednesday against world No 20 Hollie Naughton of Canada.

Fellow Kiwi Paul Coll had an easier time against his English quarter-final opponent, though still needed to battle through some tough patches to beat world No 26 Adrian Waller 12-10 11-4 11-7.

Coll's semifinal will follow King's at 3.45am.