Power primed for squash glory

Power is renowed for his tantrums and outbursts

World number two Jonathon Power will baffle the world's best for gold when the squash competition gets under way on Friday, according to his coach.

The Canadian faces tough opposition from world number one Peter Nicol and Australia's David Palmer among others.

The Power-Nicol rivalry

But Gene Turk, coach of the Canadian national team in Manchester, believes Power has the making of his rivals.

He said: "Jonathon has a deceptiveness to his game which means he can baffle even world-class players.

For squash this is the biggest event we have

Gene Turk

"Squash players pride themselves on the fact that there is no way they are ever going to lose sight of the ball, but Jonathon is that able to mix up his shots they don't know what's coming."

Power is the king of the tantrums and outbursts on court, regularly screaming, yelling and rolling on the floor melodramatically in a series of high-profile tournaments.

The Canadian has enjoyed a strong rivalry with Nicol in recent seasons and Turk warned that the Englishman and Australia's Palmer would once again provide the major obstacles to Canadian squash gold.

Palmer sure of success

Turk believes there are few greater prizes than winning Commonwealth gold, with the world's elite players all coming from Commonwealth countries.

He added: "For squash this is the biggest event we have. We don't compete at the Olympics, so there's nothing bigger than this for us.

"Sixteen of the top 20 players in the world are here all vying for the top position. We are hoping for a golden moment for Jonathon Power."