Les Poules: France v Colombie

Jour 1

Poule C [3] France 3-0 [13] Colombie

Gregory Gaultier 3-0 Ronald Palomino     11-1, 11-5, 11-2 (23m)
Grégoire Marche  3-0 Juan Camilo Vargas 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 (36m)
Baptiste Masotti 3-0 Erick Herrera             11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (24m)

There was much anticipation in the Pool C tie between France and Colombia, as it marked the return after a 14-month injury break of the French former world No.1 and World Champion Gregory Gaultier.

Greg appeared to back to his former form as he despatched Colombian Ronald Palomino 11-1, 11-5, 11-2, before his team-mates Gregoire Marche and Baptiste Masotti made it a maximum points win for the third seeds with straight games wins over Juan Camilo Vargas and Erick Herrera, respectively.

It has been a really tough year for me after having two surgeries,” explained Gaultier, who is celebrating a record tenth successive appearance in the championships. “My second surgeon did a great job and gave me the hope to play squash again. It was still 50-50 a couple of months ago between doing no sport and being able to do something. All the work I have been doing with my physios and all the work I have put in every single day has been worth it.

“It’s an amazing feeling, it has been 20 years playing for my country and playing in this shirt for my first match means a lot to me and it has always been an honour. We will see how it goes, we have a pretty solid team and we are looking forward to doing something good.”