Pole vault superstar raises the bar – and the Emirates Arena roof – with clearance of 6.18m

Mondo Duplantis may ply his trade with a pole but, right now, it might as well be a magic wand. It is difficult to escape the notion that this incredibly talented 20-year-old has powers that others simply do not possess and he enchanted the athletics world once again by breaking his own pole vault world record at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix. 

Seven days ago, the young Swede who grew up in America had cleared 6.17m in Torun to replace Renaud Lavillenie at the top of the all-time standings. 

This time, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, he went one better. One centimetre better, that is. Duplantis finished his day’s work after completing the historic leap of 6.18m at the first time of asking, but it looked like he had done so with plenty of room to spare. It seems inevitable that the record will fall again – and soon. 

“It feels good,” he said. “It feels like a world record. I just feel good jumping right now.

“I’m in good shape. I can’t tell exactly how far away from the bar I was but it felt like a good jump. I tried a stiffer pole and it ended up all right.”

Fresh from breaking the world pole vault record (again!) with 6.18m, @mondohoss600 spoke with @euancrumley about his performance, what more might be to come and how it feels to clear the bar #MullerIndoorGPGlasgow pic.twitter.com/FINNgeBT8x

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 15, 2020

The roar that bounced around the arena signalled a moment to remember for the thousands who had braved Storm Dennis to come and see a superstar in action. 

Asked how it felt once he realised that another record was his, Duplantis added:  

“It’s the best little split second that could ever be. Everything builds up to that one tiny little moment. That little freefall is a magical moment.”

Duplantis’ competition had not been blemish-free. Having entered the competition at 5.50m, he then failed with his first attempt at the next height he opted for, which was 5.75m. There was no such trouble with the second attempt at a mark which proved to be the best which America’s world champion Sam Kendricks could manage, while 5.75m represented a Belgian record for Ben Broeders as they finished second and third respectively.

European indoor champion Paweł Wojciechowski was fourth with 5.65m, the height at which Britons Harry Coppell and Adam Hague were forced out. Coppell had arrived in Glasgow off the back an Olympic standard leap of 5.80m but could not repeat the feat, finishing on 5.50m. So too did Hague, after coming close to what would have been an indoor best. Their compatriot Charlie Myers failed on his three attempts at 5.35m.

At the other end of the competition Duplantis revelled in his lap of honour, not to mention his second $30,000 bonus of the week, as the crowd rose to a man who looks set to dominate his sport for years to come. 

With his continued record-breaking feats come rising expectation levels but it does not seem to faze a man whose priorities are clear. 

“Every competition I go into I want to win and that’s the main goal – the No.1 goal at every competition,” he added. “I want to jump high, I want to break the world record but first you’ve got to win. So I’ll try to win and if I’m feeling good and have a bit of energy left, I’ll try to crank it up. I can’t promise anything but I’ll give it 100 per cent for sure.”

Jump-off fails to take off

The added dimension to the women’s long jump competition which was supposed to raise the stakes and the tension fell strangely flat. 

With the winners having been decided after the fifth round, the top three were then put through to a “jump-off” sixth round to decide who took the prize money. 

Ukrainian Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (6.90m), Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia (6.53m) and a season’s best of 6.47m by Jazmin Sawyers occupied the top spots, but all three fouled their sudden death attempts.

Sawyers’ fifth-round leap had put her third on countback ahead of compatriot and world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, while British indoor and outdoor champion Abigail Irozuru was fourth with 6.42m.

World Indoor Tour title for Mahuchikh

Britain’s Bethan Partridge came perilously close to her personal best of 1.91m but finishing just a centimetre lower gave her second spot in the women’s high jump competition. 

Ukraine’s junior world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh took top spot and secured the World Indoor Tour title with 1.93m, while Lithuania’s Airine Palsyte was third in 1.86m and Morgan Lake fourth with the same height.

Scottish favourite Nikki Manson, who had been in fine form going into the meeting, could only clear 1.82m.

At the top level, performance takes priority over safety issues
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

The subject of eye protection in squash hit the headlines again after England captain Daryl Selby suffered a freak eye injury in his National Championships match against Ollie Pett.

With their first round match just a few minutes old, Selby hit a loose ball down the middle of the court and Pett, reacting quickly to an unusual situation, attempted to play a shot behind his back.

The ball shot off the frame of his racket and struck Selby in the right eye. He was taken to hospital in Nottingham and an examination showed internal bruising to the eye but no sign of a detached retina.

Selby was awarded a walkover because Pett’s unfortunate shot was deemed to have caused the injury that led to the match being prematurely ended.

The next day, Selby sported a pair of goggles for his quarter-final tie against George Parker. Taking nothing away from Parker, but Selby’s performance was clearly a subdued one, according to some knowledgeable players close to the England camp. Despite those opinions, Daryl refused to use his injury as an excuse and stressed to the audience that George had won on merit. 

Selby, at 37, must have completed thousands of hours on court, playing and training, without worrying about getting hit in the eye with a ball.

At the highest level, no doubt you trust your own ability, and that of your opponents, to strike the ball safely and accurately.

At the very apex of professional sport we frequently hear the mantra that success is down to fine margins. So, if wearing goggles might diminish your vision and concentration by a small fraction of a percentage, then athletic performance outcomes are likely to be given priority over health concerns. If you are frequently distracted by your goggles misting up, then many players are likely to leave them at the bottom of their bags, unloved and unwanted.

However, squash has different rules in place for different territories and different tournaments.

If you play recreational or college squash in America and Canada, you will not be allowed on court without eye protection.

Play doubles in the Commonwealth Games and the same rules apply. We also expect our juniors the world over to wear eye protection at all times but most countries do not enforce such strict policies for adult players.

I remember Daryl Selby being involved in an incident during an emotionally-charged 2014 Commonwealth Games match in Glasgow, when he and partner James Willstrop played home heroes Alan Clyne and Harry Leitch.

Clyne was trapped behind Selby in the back left corner and the Englishman wound up a ferocious backhand drive. He had no idea that, as he struck the ball, Clyne would wriggle round him and take the full, immense force of his racket follow-through to his head.

Fortunately, Clyne was wearing an I-Mask that absorbed much of the impact. Selby, it must be pointed out, did nothing wrong. Clyne, in attempting to escape from a position where he was trapped behind his opponent, put himself in the danger zone. He was obviously afraid of Selby going short, but did not bargain for the big flat kill.

I have often wondered what kind of injury Clyne would have sustained had he not been wearing such a substantial piece of eye protection.

I speak from a position of painful experience, having been struck in the eye with a racket when I very first started playing the game of squash.

Stupidly, I was wearing spectacles with glass lenses. I remember the incident, some 44 years ago, with absolute clarity. I was on match ball and placed a decent backhand drop close to the left wall. My opponent, a left-hander, took a wild, desperate swing, missed the ball and his follow-through ended with his racket smashing my specs and driving shards of broken glass into my left eye.

My girlfriend, now my wife (40 years a squash widow this July) was watching from the gallery. Luckily, she had her car outside and drove me to Eastbourne Hospital. Sadly, her rusty old Morris Minor was on its last legs and the wobbly suspension meant a rather uncomfortable, bumpy drive to the hospital.

A doctor carefully fished several pieces of glass from my eye and sent me away looking like a pirate, with a patch over my left eye.

For the next three mornings, tiny pieces of glass found their way to the surface of my eye. A trip to the optician for a thorough check-up revealed no more glass deposits in the eye. It also led me to wearing contact lenses.

Since then, like most players, I have vacillated between wanting to protect my eyesight and the frustration of stopping matches to wipe sweat off my glasses or goggles.

As a coach, I felt it was helpful to reinforce the message about eye protection by wearing goggles while I took junior groups. After all, it’s rather contradictory to insist on your pupils wearing goggles and not wear them yourself.

As a lover of doubles, I often, but not always, wear goggles while playing. That decision is often more to do with how much I trust my opponents than anything else.

At club level, I have seen some horrific situations during doubles matches where players with big, dangerous swings see no reason to adapt their playing style in the interests of safety.

I clearly recall playing doubles with my then teenage son many years ago when he hit a crosscourt that beat his opponent, only for this guy to turn on the ball and smack his shot straight up the middle of the court, right into my son’s face. Yes, he was wearing goggles, and the ball struck him painfully on the cheek.

The moron who hit the ball failed to apologise and tried to blame my son for his powerful crosscourt. Obviously, stopping play and asking for a let did not occur to this particular individual. Words were exchanged and I instantly decided not to go on court with this idiot ever again.

Of course, in much of the world we make life difficult for ourselves by playing doubles on a singles court, making collisions and injuries far more likely.

Americans, of course, have wonderful, purpose-built, hardball doubles courts. Try to squash a hardball between your fingers and you will instantly understand why eye protection is mandatory. A hardball strike to any part of the body will cause a bruise that will change colours as the seasons pass.

Sadly, those doubles courts were not replicated on this side of the Atlantic (apart from one in Edinburgh, the only American-sized court in the whole of Europe).

Following the 2014 Commonwealth Games, when a new court dimension was finally agreed upon for doubles, the technology has been available to convert a singles court for doubles play by pressing a button.

However, there must be some inherent impatience built into squash players because nearly every one of those electrical installations has been wrecked by players trying to force the machinery to go faster than it’s programmed to by pushing and shoving the wall. Now, court builders simply recommend a manual solution to moving the side walls for doubles play.

So, stupidity (or lack of patience) is clearly an issue in the game. Too stupid to wear proper goggles, too stupid to ask for a let, or too impatient to wait for a court wall to move.

Lack of care and coaching for newcomers to the game is another important subject. Far too many clubs happily take membership fees from new adult members without ever trying to teach them the rules, the etiquette of the game, or offer basic tips about health and safety while on court.

Most injuries occur when beginners flail their rackets around uncontrollably, hit the ball up the middle of the court, and have no idea how to  keep out of harm’s way.

We know that the newbies are the most likely people to get injured playing squash, and we happily smirk and wince from the gallery as we see them risking life and limb down below.

But, whatever your standard, there is no accounting for a freak mishit shot spinning off a frame, as Daryl Selby found out this week, and the closer you are to your opponent, the more likelihood there is of you being struck by the ball.

I am sure most players will have their own experiences, opinions or horror stories concerning eye protection. Feel free to share them below.

Pictures courtesy of England Squash and Squash Mad library

From the outside, it looks like India's women's team has a problem with its middle order. The team is gearing up for the T20 World Cup - the preparation included playing the favourites Australia and England recently, and a theme that emerged from that tri-series is that they are prone to collapses.

Playing on one of the grounds which will host those World Cup matches in a few days' time, India were on course for victory in the final, until they lost seven wickets for 29 runs. The collapse began with Smriti Mandhana's wicket in the 15th over and led to a stinging critique from former India captain Diana Edulji, who called the players "lazy".

On Saturday, Mandhana admitted the collapses - there was one against England as well, when India went from 78 for 3 to 99 for 9 - were a cause for concern but that there was a way around it.

"The middle order could definitely improve," she said. "There are some things we still have to figure out with our batting and we are trying hard to do that.

"The best way to support the middle order is for the top order to bat 20 overs. I think we need to try and bat long as a top four. We must try not to get out in the 16th or 17th over and the problem will be sorted if we can stay until the 20th over."

India do contain players capable of pulling this off. Mandhana herself is a prime candidate alongside the captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the two teenagers Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma. This too was readily apparent in the tri-series when India chased down a target of 174 against Australia.

ALSO READ: 'Even if the top order is firing, the winning runs will be the 20-odd from the lower order' - India women's coach WV Raman

Australia had put up what seemed like a winning total riding on Ash Gardner's 93 off 57 balls but India were able to cruise the chase, losing only three of their wickets. Mandhana held the innings together with a steady half-century while Verma (49 off 28) and Rodrigues (30 off 19) had the liberty to clatter the ball to all parts. That game exemplified why Australia coach Matthew Mott rated India as having the most feared batting line-up in the world.

"We can be very unpredictable on our day, but I'd like to agree (with Mott)," Mandhana said in response. "We have some great batters and our order is very balanced. The top four or five are quite settled. We've had the same top five for the last year and that's been a good thing for us."

Moeen Ali has restated his desire to return to Test cricket in the future, saying he has "huge ambitions" to prove himself in the format. Moeen did not make himself available for next month's tour of Sri Lanka but said he was keen to be involved in next winter's five-Test World Test Championship trip to India.

Moeen's last Test appearance was in August, for the opening encounter of the 2019 Ashes. He subsequently took time away from the game to deal with burnout, making his England return in the third ODI against South Africa last week.

He was named Player of the Match in Durban on Friday as England levelled the T20I series, and spoke afterwards about his plans for a Test return.

"I do want to be part of that [tour to India] for sure," Moeen told the BBC. "I still have huge ambitions for Test cricket.

"It is still the best form of the game and the hardest. I want prove to myself and to other people that I am not a bad Test player."

England play two Tests in Sri Lanka in March, before taking on West Indies and Pakistan during their home summer.

Moeen, who lost his central contract in October but could have been obliged by the ECB to make himself available for Sri Lanka as part of his white-ball deal, will next head to the Pakistan Super League, where he has been signed by Multan Sultans.

"I am going to give myself a bit more time," he said of his break from Test cricket. "I want to make sure when I come back I am ready and fresh.

"I want to keep enjoying my cricket and get that hunger back because I feel I lost that completely. I had no interest in my batting and bowling and when you are in that situation there is no point playing.

"I definitely feel like I am getting there and not far [away]. I want to give myself extra time and know when I come back I will have to fight for my place."

Moeen played once during the ODI series against South Africa, taking 1 for 41 and then hitting the winning runs in Johannesburg. He showed signs of getting back to his free-scoring best in the second T20I, cracking a whirlwind 39 off 11 balls to fire England to a score they narrowly managed to defend in a dramatic final-over finish.

"It was amazing to contribute and finally feel like I am back for England," he said. "I will not take it for granted."

No excuses from Selby after eye scare
By DONNA HELMER – Squash Mad Correspondent

Unseeded Englishman George Parker continued his giant-killing run as he followed up a first round upset with a quarter-final victory over former champion [3/4] Daryl Selby in straight games to advance to his first semi-final at the AJ Bell British National Championships in Nottingham.

Essex’s Selby, 37, returned to the court following an eye injury he sustained against Ollie Pett during round one but proved no match for Parker, the World Number 53 from Leicester, who claimed his first triumph over Selby after five defeats, winning 11-6, 11-9, 11-5.

“I’m just enjoying the tournament, no pressure, no ranking points so I can relax my head and let my arm go which is what I did today,” said 23-year-old Parker.

Commenting on Parker’s performance, Selby said; “I wasn’t good enough today irrelevant of what happened yesterday. George played too well. I’m not disappointed with that. I gave everything and chased everything down but I just wasn’t good enough.”

Defending champion James Willstrop, who is appearing in his 22nd consecutive British Nationals, outclassed Nottingham’s [5/8] Declan James in straight games, winning 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 in 43 minutes.

“If you’ve seen Declan’s performances at the World Teams, you’ll know they were inspiring, so I knew what I was likely to be up against today,” said Willstrop, the former World No.1 from Yorkshire.

“I’m happy to have played well and really pleased to be playing in the semi-finals tomorrow.”

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Meanwhile, World No. 20 and 3/4 seed Adrian Waller remained composed against giant-killer Richie Fallows to seal a 3-1 victory and tee up a meeting with top seed Joel Makin who saw off nine-time Scottish champion and 5/8 seed Alan Clyne 3-1: 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5.

Fallows saved two match balls in the third game, and despite an energetic start to the fourth as he threatened to run away with the game, Waller used all of his experience to take the last nine points of the match to reach his fourth semi-final winning: 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6.

Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, 2019 runner-up Emily Whitlock, seeded 5/8, got the better of 3/4 seed Victoria Lust 3-1 in a gripping clash.

Whitlock raced to a 2-0 start before Lust fought back to claim a tight third 15-13, saving two match balls before Whitlock bounced back to take the fourth, requiring only one match ball to reach her third semi-final, winning 11-5, 11-1, 13-15, 11-7.

“Vicky’s a good player, she gets physical and makes it difficult the whole time. I’m delighted to get through,” said Whitlock.

Women’s top seed Sarah-Jane Perry required 47 minutes and five games to dispatch 5/8 seed Julianne Courtice. Perry’s clean winning record against Courtice looked to be under threat after she trailed 2-1 but in a high-quality affair with neither player making many errors, the World No.7 came through 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4.

Women’s 3/4 seed Millie Tomlinson advanced to her first semi-final by edging past [5/8] Lucy Turmel in a gripping 70-minute encounter that went the distance.

The Derbyshire player prevailed 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10 to go one better than her last-eight finishes from the previous two years, the 27-year-old battling back from 5-2 down in the decider to seal it on her fifth match ball.

“Relieved is the right word! Playing at home in Nottingham should be an advantage, even though I’m not keen on glass courts, but it’s great having friends and family here,” said Tomlinson.

“I’m playing SJ next who also had a tough five-setter – I hope she’s as tired and stressed out from it as I am!”

Left-hander Jasmine Hutton, the 5/8 seed from Sussex, moved into her first semi-final after second seed Alison Waters withdrew due to an ankle injury she sustained on Thursday.

Watch live action from the semi-finals from 1pm on englandsquash.tv (requires free England Squash website account). 

AJ Bell British National Championships 2020, University of Nottingham, England.

Women’s Quarter Finals:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) 3-2 [5/8] Julianne Courtice (Eng) 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4 (47m)
[3/4] Millie Tomlinson (Eng) 3-2 [5/8] Lucy Turmel (Eng) 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10 (70m)
[5/8] Emily Whitlock (Eng) 3-1 [3/4] Victoria Lust (Eng) 11-5, 11-1, 13-15, 11-7 (46m)
[5/8] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) w/o [2] Alison Waters (Eng) Alison w/d injured (ankle injury)
Semi Finals:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [3/4] Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[5/8] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [5/8] Emily Whitlock (ENG) 

Men’s Quarter Finals:
[1] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [5/8] Alan Clyne (Sco) 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 (53m)
[3/4] Adrian Waller (Eng) v Richie Fallows (Eng) 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6 (66m)
George Parker (Eng) 3-0 [3/4] Daryl Selby (Eng) 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (41m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 [5/8] Declan James (Eng) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 (43m) 
Semi Finals:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) v [3/4] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) v George Parker (ENG)

For full results see www.squashinfo.com

Pictures by STEVE CUBBINS courtesy of England Squash

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It didn’t take long for calamity to reign supreme during Friday night’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

On lap 16 of Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250, Ty Majeski found himself on his lid after being an innocent bystander just moments before in a snarling pack at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Exiting the tri-oval, a multi-car melee broke out after a bump from Todd Gilliland to the back bumper of Tate Fogleman’s Chevrolet sent Fogleman up the race track and into the left-rear quarter panel of Austin Wayne Self.

The contact between Fogleman and Self sent Self’s Chevrolet careening down the banking at the entrance to turn one, where it impacted the right-side door of Majeski’s truck and the momentum sent the No. 45 rolling upside down.

Majeski then went for a long slide on his roof, spraying a shower of sparks in the process, before coming to rest on the apron in the middle of turn one.

The Seymour, Wis., driver and late model ace quickly radioed to crew chief Phil Gould that he was OK, then waited patiently in his upside down truck for safety crews to get it back on all four wheels.

Once a set of tow straps helped accomplish that mission, Majeski climbed out under his own power, walking to a waiting ambulance and was later checked and released from the infield care center.

The 25-year-old was making his second career Truck Series start and first on a superspeedway, after debuting with Niece Motorsports last fall at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway.

“That was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. Just unfortunate for our night to end that early,” Majeski said after exiting the medical center. “We had a pretty fast Plan B Sales Niece Motorsports Chevy. But that wreck was just a product of this racing. We had planned maybe to get out of there if we could. We were kind of rolling there on the bottom there and in a safe spot. That outside was
just hanging on the quarter-panel for laps there and couldn’t quite break away.

“Now, our season starts next weekend at (Las) Vegas,” Majeski noted. “I appreciate this opportunity and (I’m) ready to make the most of it next week.”

Majeski also noted the discomfort of being strapped in while still sitting upside down after the crash.

“It’s obviously not a good feeling,” he said. “I’m not hurt, thankfully, just my pride (is). It’s all good, though. We’ll live to race another day and we’ll get them next weekend.”

Self, who is working in a tighter technical alliance with Jordan Anderson Racing this season and was impressive prior to his involvement in the crash, had high hopes of making it to the end but saw his chances at chasing a Daytona victory dashed well before the halfway point Friday night.

“I thought it was going really well,” said Self of his night. “I ran the bottom for a little bit. Saw my Chevy guys up front (and) had some help from the back. I thought I gave enough room. It just looked like a good push from the 38 (Gilliland) … and we’ve seen that before from him. It’s unfortunate. It was a good chance that might happen here at Daytona. We all know that when we come here. I’m not too upset, just a little disappointed we didn’t get to race a little more.

“I thought our AM Technical Solutions truck was really fast,” he added. “I’m just excited that we’ve got Vegas next week and I hope everybody else is alright. We’ll hit it hard next week.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Natalie Decker rewrote a page in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series record books on Friday night during the season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Decker, a 22-year-old native of Eagle River, Wis., raced to the best-ever finish by a female competitor in Truck Series history under the Daytona floodlights, finishing fifth in the NextEra Energy Resources 250.

She escaped involvement in a 14-truck pileup on lap 98 in regulation, then darted through a wild pack of contenders in NASCAR overtime en route to her first top five and first top 10 in 20 career starts.

The previous high-water mark in the Truck Series for a female driver was Jennifer Jo Cobb’s sixth-place run at Daytona in 2011, nine years ago.

Decker was beaming before she ever reached the waiting microphones at the media bullpen after the race, exuberant despite the fact she wasn’t yet aware of the history she’d made at the end of the race.

After all, it was just 12 months ago at the same race track that Decker found her truck on fire during the opening lap of the NextEra Energy Resources 250, out before she ever really had a chance to compete.

“It was so amazing to be able to come here after last year when we were on fire on the first lap and come here and get a top five. I just think it’s incredible and I’m just so proud of my team and myself,” Decker said on pit road.

Told about the significance of her feat, Decker’s already-wide grin got even a little bit bigger.

“I didn’t even know that,” Decker said. “Wow. That is so cool. That makes me feel very proud. Thank you for telling me that.”

Decker’s road to the impressive result was wrought with near-misses, but she and her Niece Motorsports team stuck to their agenda, and it paid off in the end.

After starting 30th in the 32-truck field, Decker survived a multi-truck incident in turn four with 35 to go and then deftly avoided the dreaded Big One on lap 98 that set up the race-deciding overtime restart.

Once she was in position to start making moves, Decker did exactly that en route to her top-five run.

“From the beginning all the way up to the last two laps, my team just kept telling me to ride in the back, ride in the back … and I was just so bored back there,” Decker said. “I was like, ‘come on, I want to get up there and race and get a good finish.’

“They were so right (about the strategy). Just missing all the wrecks in the last two laps and getting up there and finishing it out and getting ourselves a top five was amazing,” Decker added. “It definitely was a rough year [last year], so to be able to come here to Daytona and get this finish makes me proud and makes me excited to go to the next one in Las Vegas.”

Did Decker always believe she had the knowhow to be able to put together this kind of performance?

Absolutely, she noted with an emphatic nod.

“I knew I was capable of doing this,” Decker said with a smile. “But it’s all about you needing to prove (your worth) to other people and gain their respect. I hope I did that tonight.”