Runa Reta, the Bermuda squash coach, admits that it has been strange being on the other side of the fence after returning to her first Commonwealth Games since Melbourne 2006.

A former Canadian No 1 with a career-high world ranking of 29, Reta represented her country at those Games, finishing a respectable ninth in the women’s singles competition.

In the absence of the stresses and strains of top-level competition, Reta has been able to experience a very different type of Games in Glasgow, confessing that she had not missed taking to the court too much.

“Being able to represent my country in Melbourne was a fantastic experience for me,” Reta said. “It has been a bit weird being here and not competing, but I have enjoyed being on the other side as well as watching a really high level of squash, which I haven’t seen live in a couple of years.

“To not have had all the pressures that come with competing has been quite nice as well!”

Reta replaced Andrew Mount as the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association’s assistant director of squash in August 2012.

It is an all-encompassing role that has enabled her to work at the grassroots level with Bermuda’s junior players as well advising the Island’s three-man team of Micah Franklin, Nick Kyme and Robbie Maycock in Glasgow.

“It’s a great role at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association,” said Reta, who was part of the Canada team that won gold at the Pam Am Games in Rio in 2007. “We have a great group of committed squash players, who really enjoy the social side of things as well.

“We have a thriving junior programme and it gives me a lot of joy to work with the kids and help develop their games.

“It’s great that I’m able to work at the grassroots level and then be able to come to events like this at the other end of the spectrum.”

Reta believes that there have been plenty of positives to take from the Games for Bermuda’s squash contingent, none more so than Franklin’s first-round victory against Michael Kawooya, of Uganda, 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4.

“These Games are Micah’s first and it’s been a great experience for him,” she said. “He had a tough first-round match and did well to win against an opponent who just kept on coming at him.

“In the second round, he came up against a whole different calibre of opponent in Campbell Grayson [of New Zealand] and struggled. But it was important for him to experience the different levels that he can keep moving towards.”

Franklin was also bestowed with the honour of being Bermuda’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony in front of a packed crowd at Celtic Park.

Reta believed that no athlete would have felt more thrilled and privileged to perform that role than the 21-year-old. “He was a very lucky lad to have been chosen to be the flag bearer,” she said. “He’s such a humble guy and I know he was so thrilled and honoured to carry Bermuda’s flag.

“I gather he couldn’t sleep for several hours when he came back to the Athletes’ Village, as he was still buzzing with the excitement of it all.”

Nick Kyme and Micah Franklin, the Bermuda doubles pair, suffered a 2-0 defeat in their opening pool E match at the Commonwealth Games yesterday.

Kyme and Franklin, the No 12 seeds, were beaten by fifth seeds Campbell Grayson and Martin Knight, of New Zealand, 11-5, 11-3 at the Scotstoun Sports Campus.

The Bermuda pair were scheduled to play their final pool E game today against James Fayia and Issa Kamara, of Sierra Leone, but the West Africans withdrew from the competition yesterday morning after handing New Zealand a walkover.

They will now be in action in the round of 16 at the Scotstoun Sports Campus tomorrow.