Peter Marshall (born 12 May 1971 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) is a former professional

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. With his unique double-handed playing style, Marshall finished runner-up to the great

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i player

Jansher Khan Jansher Khan PP SI HI ( ur, جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open s ...

at the World Open in 1994 and the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in 1995. When he reached the World No. 2 ranking behind Jansher in November 1994, many observers felt he seemed a strong candidate to displace the aging Pakistani champion as World No. 1. However, in 1995, Marshall was afflicted with

glandular fever In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

, the effects of which meant he was unable to play top-level squash for two years. Marshall returned to the professional tour in 1997, re-claiming his place in the England squad which went on to win the

World Team Squash Championships The WSF World Team Squash Championships are an international squash competition organised by the World Squash Federation (WSF) and played between teams representing different nations. Countries enter teams of three or four players to represent t ...

title in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. He broke back into the world's top-10 in 1999, and won his third British National Championship title in February 2000. He was protecting a remarkable record, having been unbeaten in that event since December 1989.

Early career

Marshall won British junior titles at all age-groups (under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-19). He first became England's No.1 in November 1991, holding the position unchallenged for four years. His coach and mentor was the six-time British champion Jonah Barrington. In 1989, Marshall won the British Open U19. The following year, he became World Masters U23 Champion. His first full year of international competition was 1991, but it was in the 1994-95 season that Marshall's promise was most powerfully demonstrated. He was a finalist in five

PSA Super Series The PSA World Series (formerly known as the PSA Super Series) was a series of men's and women's squash tournaments which were part of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour for the squash season. The tournaments were some of the mo ...

events leading up to and including the 1995 British Open. Marshall was British and European No 1 for several years.

After retiring from the professional tour

Marshall released an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

about his battle against

chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

in 2001 entitled ''Shattered: A Champion's Fight Against a Mystery Illness''. Marshall has a BSc in Physiotherapy from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

and an Executive MBA from

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. He currently works for

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

. In 2008, Marshall won the Over-35 British National Championship in Manchester. He also won the British Open Masters Over-40 in 2016 and 2018. Marshall is an Ambassador for Access Sport, a charity focused on providing children from disadvantaged areas with access to local sports and promoting the real difference sport can make within deprived communities. He is also a trustee for the England Squash Foundation, a national charity with a vision to enhance young people's lives through squash. In May 2015, Marshall was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Squash Awards for his achievements, continued support and commitment to the game.

References

External links

* * * English male squash players Sportspeople from Nottingham Alumni of the University of Nottingham People educated at Millfield 1971 births Living people British physiotherapists People with chronic fatigue syndrome {{England-squash-bio-stub