Two Aussies through to Birmingham 2022 Round of 16 singles

Australia will have two players flying the flag in the Round of 16 of the women's squash singles at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games after Jess Turnbull and Donna Lobban secured wins on Day two of competition.

Turnbull started her Birmingham 2022 women's singles campaign with a 3-1 win over Malta's Colette Sultana. The Commonwealth Games debutant was the first of the Aussie contingent up on court at the University of Birmingham.

In the fourth encounter between the players in official competition, having previously played each other back in Australia, Turnbull took the advantage early, building a solid 5-1 lead in the opening game. While Sultana managed to hit another three points, Turnbull held her nerve to take the first 11-4.

The tides turned in the following game, as it was Sultana who came out firing, going to 6-0 before Turnbull could get a point on the board. The Maltese player would go on to take the game 11-7, levelling the match. 

From there, the Sandgate squash player used her lengths to swing momentum and the game back to her in the third. Turnbull has been behind in the early stages but finished strongly to win 11-7. 

She would go on to win the fourth 11-7, securing her the match 3-1 and a path through to the Round of 16 on Sunday.

Speaking after the match, Turnbull said it was great to get a win on the board at the Commonwealth Games. 

"It was a bit of a shaky start," Turnbull said after the match. "I'm stoked to get a win on the board, first Games first win so happy to get through.

"I got my length back in the third, got sick of hitting tins so was not going to do a drop again and I was able to work my way back in," she added. 

She will now face England's Lucy Turmel.

The only Australian men's singles player Rhys Dowling was next up on court, taking on 9-16 seed Chee Wern Yuen of Malaysia. 

In the opening two games, both players were hard to separate and managed to get wins on the board, 11-9 respectively, to put it at one a piece. After that, Yuen took control of the match, winning game three (11-5) and game four (11-4), ending Dowling's Commonwealth Games in the men's singles.

The Northern Territory player will be back on court for the men's doubles later this week.

Lastly, in an all-Australian Round of 32 match, long-time Australian teammates and friends Rachael Grinham and Donna Lobban came up against each other on the glass court. 

The women's doubles pairing had only recently played each other at the 2022 Australian National Championships in the women's singles semi-final.

Competing in her sixth Commonwealth Games, Grinham came out of the block firing, taking an 11-6 win in the opening game. Lobban then made her mark as the match continued and built up a solid 6-1 lead in the second before levelling the match after finishing 11-4. 

It was a tight tussle between the two for the following two games, with both looking to find that extra edge that would give them the win but in the end, it was Lobban who would advance to the next round with a 3-1 win.

Lobban will face Emily Whitlock of Wales.

The squash competition is being played at the University of Birmingham Squash Centre, with the action live and free on 7plus.

For the full schedule and results from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, click here.