It is not easy being a sports person, whether mentally or physically, and Mark Sealy can attest to that. Hence when he secured a bronze medal at the 2022 Betard WSF World Masters Squash Champion he felt ecstatic.
In a field of 98 registered participants for the Men’s 60+ competition, the outstanding national top seed in Masters Squash put Barbados on the international podium this past weekend in Poland where the World Masters was contested.
In what was an incredible showing from Sealy competing in his third Masters World Championship, this was also his first time medalling at the competition having started in 2012 where he finished 16th overall, placed eight in 2018 and now third in 2022.
For Sealy this was a clear indication of steady and impressive progress competing against the World’s best. No stranger to playing at the international level, Sealy won the United States Masters 60+ in 2021 and 2022 and was a finalist at the British and Canadian Open Masters also in the 60+ age group.
Sharing a wide perspective on this year’s World Masters tournament, Sealy told Barbados TODAY: “I had a very good World Masters. Remember there were 98 players in the 60+ category, the largest category by far. This is only my third World Masters. In 2012 I came 16th, in 2018 came 8th so to come 3rd in the World 60+ is incredible progress for me. In the round of 16, I played Tony Brettkelly whom I played in Oct 2021 in USA Masters final. I knew he would have put in some hard training for the Worlds. I won the first two games but he would not give up and won the third. I was happy to win the 4th and move on. In the quarter-finals I played Francis Bradford of South Africa. Was 2-0 down, fought back to 2-2 but trailed 5-1 in fifth, managed to claw my way back to 9-9 and then took it 11-9. That was a big win.
“The semi-final against the number two Peter Gilbee of Australia was on the semi-glass court. I did not adjust well to the court and it was difficult to get the ball to the back. The court suited his style of short rallies. Fought back in the second to 9-9, and in third 10-8 but was always playing catch-up. After that match, I knew I had to make some adjustments if I was to have a chance at winning bronze. This lead to the third place play-off versus Trevor Wilkinson of South Africa who is a professional and former World Top Ten player. I lost to him in 2012 and 2018 so I knew it was going to be a tough match.”
“However, I made some adjustments to my follow through and height on the front wall. Took the first game 11-9 but he improved his length in the second and I lost it 11-3. I refocused on good length in the third and took it 11-8, but he fought back in the 4th to take 8-11. This set up the fifth and final game. At 2-2, I told myself that I had to make a move early. I couldn’t wait for him to lose the match.”
“Laura Massaro, former World Champion, had a saying, ‘Live or die on your own sword!’ What that means is take your destiny into your own hands. I started playing shots and rushed to 8-3 with winning drops from the back. Then, when he threw up a lob and I smashed it perfectly short for a winner, I knew I just had to be steady to close it out. A great trickle boast brought the score to 10-3 and the next point he misjudged the serve and it was over. Truthfully, I couldn’t believe I had beaten one of the great masters and it was incredibly satisfying to be on the World Masters podium for the first time, especially since I had put in eight weeks of hard training for the tournament,” he added.
Not to mention that in the round of 64, Sealy beat Frank Trenner of Germany 11-6, 11-2, 11-1 and in the round of 32 he defeated Andrew Joughin of Zimbabwe 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 in what was some incredible play as well.
As he thanked several persons including his wife Jackie and son Daniel for being present in Poland with him as well as Karen Meakins who captured Barbados’ first gold medal at World Masters in the Women’s Over-50, Sealy also spoke highly of the actual tournament and how incredible it was for him.
“The tournament was incredible because all the players played at one location, the Hasta La Vista Club which has 32 courts, the world’s largest club. I trained hard for seven days prior to the tournament to get used to the courts, and then when the tournament was on, I knocked every morning prior to my match. It was great to have Karen Meakins playing since she along with Nicolette Fernandes gave me advice between games which is so crucial and I worked with Karen in her matches.
“It was also great to have my wife Jackie and son Daniel there for support since a match every day for six days is both mentally and physically draining. I must say that I was particularly happy with my fitness and physicality for the tournament which was a direct result of a rigorous training schedule. The Polish people were very hospitable, friendly, and helpful. Can’t really fault anything about the tournament,” Sealy expressed.
He added: “I’ll now take a few days off and then start the process of starting work on certain areas that I recognised at the tournament that need work in order to continue the journey of continuous improvement. In November I have my last Masters tournament in Tortola which will close out my most successful year.”
Sealy thanked the following people who made up the preparation team: Karen Meakins, Shawn Simpson – practice partners; Rhett Cumberbatch, Darien Benn, Stewart St. John – practice games;
Red Zen Pilates Studio – Rachel and Georgia; Surfside Wellness Centre – weights; Daniel Nuet – chiropractor; sports and physical therapy – Jackie King.
