What's been happening in the world of squash/ 21st November - 4th December 2016

Published : 2016-12-06 11:23:05
Categories : Squash news around the world

Egypt’s dream team on top of the world

 

Two years after losing their title in Canada, the set-up was perfect for the Egyptian women’s team. They arrived in Paris with three girls in the world top 4, who even became the three highest ranked players on the 1st of December. They began the week on a celebratory note, when Omneya Abdel Kawy was honoured for her tenth participation in the event. And if it wasn’t enough, they were coached for the first time by charismatic Amr Shabana, former world number 1 and 4-time world champion.

Nour El Sherbini and her teammates lived up to their seeding on their road to the final, dropping only two games in five fixtures … As expected, they clashed with their rivals England last Saturday, at the Palais des Sports Robert Charpentier in Issy-les-Moulineaux. The two countries were meeting for the fourth time in six WWTC finals, and the stands were full when the action begun at 4pm. The number 1 string match was the most awaited: Nour El Sherbini and Laura Massaro have had some great battles in the last few years – five of their eight matches going to five games! The England number 1 hadn’t had a great tournament up to then, but that’s when she is the most dangerous according to national coach David Campion. El Sherbini came out firing on all cylinders, hitting the ball with ferocious pace and accuracy. As a result the world number 1 was quickly 6-1 up and Massaro was struggling to find any solution. But the Preston-born is renowned for her fighting abilities, and she started clawing her way back at the end of the first game, starting asking some questions to her opponent. El Sherbini converted her fourth game ball at 10-9 but we had a match on our hands. The second was all about Massaro, who found some nice attacking shots while the Egyptian started making a few errors (11-5). The third game was key as usual in a close match: the interferences and chatting with the ref became more frequent but it was the English lady who handled the situation better (11-4). She now had a firm control on the match and would never let go, closing the match 11-6 in the fourth. “I didn’t really get off to a great start, she said to us after the match. Nour was really up for it and I really had to ask myself some questions and do it for the team. I had to get my best squash out, then if I did that and lost, well then, that’s what would happen but I was so happy to be able to do it for the team.” The pressure was then on Egypt who had to win the next two matches, especially WWTC debutant Nouran Gohar. But the 19-year old is already playing like a veteran, and although Alison Waters was playing well and fighting for each point, she dominated the first two games (11-6, 11-4). The English number 2 came back strong in the third, leading 10-8. Gohar saved these two match balls and closed the match 12-10 thanks to a few crucial unforced errors from her opponent.

Photo credit: Paul Orlovic

We were now down to a decider between Raneem El Welily and Sarah-Jane Perry, H2H being 4-0 in favour of the Egyptian. Perry started very positively and was up 7-4, before a monster of a rally which allowed her opponent to come back to 7-8. The world number 2 clinched the first game 12-10 and things were looking good for the Egyptian corner. She completely dominated the second but Perry refused to give up and there were some magnificent rallies in the third game. But Welily went up to 7-6 after another huge exchange and it was all about her after that. Egypt was on top of the world again. “I can sum up my feeling in two words: Mission accomplished!” said Amr Shabana after their triumph (source: squashinfo.com)

Photo credit: Paul Orlovic

Their stranglehold on women’s squash is stronger than ever: they hold the individual and team world title, both in junior and senior. As well as other major titles, especially the British Open (junior and senior too). England are still their main rivals but a rising force caught the attention last week in Paris: the United States – coached by French legend Thierry Lincou - lost to the future champions in the quarters, but not only they’d given a hard time to England in the pool stage, they went on to beat Australia and Malaysia to finish fifth. World number 7 Amanda Sobhy (picture above, who ended Nicol David’s 38-match winning streak in the event) and 19-year old Reeham “The Hammer” Sedky (unranked in PSA!) were particularly impressive. Another great story of this 2016 WWTC is France, who clinched their first medal ever to the delight of the crowd. It was a real team effort, as Camille Serme, Coline Aumard and Laura Pomportes all brought a key contribution at some stage. They shared the third place with Hong Kong, who upset Malaysia and are also bringing some silverware home for the first time in their history.

Photo credit: Les Sportives Magazine

Results

PSA

  • Monte Carlo Classic 2016 (Monaco) – $25,000 (Women’s)

Winner: Victoria Lust (England)

  • ReidBuilt Homes Edmonton Open (Edmonton, Canada) – $35,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Diego Elias (Peru)

  • CCI International JSW ISC (Mumbai, India) – $50,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Fares Dessouky (Egypt)

  • Tournoi Invitation du Club Sportif MAA 2016, (Montreal, Canada) - $5,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Nick Sachvie (Canada)

  • Valencia Open 2016, TU TEMPO K7 (Valencia, Spain) - $10,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Mazen Gamal (Egypt)

  • Wasatch Advisors Salt Lake City Open 2016 (Salt Lake City, USA) - $15,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Alfredo Avila (Mexico)

  • Xmas Airport Challenger 2016 (Berlin, Germany) - $5,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Douglas Kempsell (Scotland)

  • Old Chang Kee Marigold Singapore Open 2016 (Singapore) - $5,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Tang Ming Hong (Hong Kong)

  • London Open 2016 (London, England) - $10,000 (Men’s) + $5,000 (Women’s)

Winners: Charles Sharpes (England) and Nadda Abbas (Egypt)

  • ASB Prague Classic 2016 (Prague, Czech Republic) - $5,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Carlos Cornes (Spain)

  • AJ Bell British Grand Prix 2016 (Manchester, England) - $70,000 (Men’s)

Winner: Nick Matthew (England)

The two English rivals met for the 57th time last night in Manchester. Nick Matthew extended his winning streak over James Willstrop in PSA events to 19 matches and lifted his first trophy in 2016! He has won at least one title every year since 2006.

Photo credit: squashsite

Others

  • Women's World Team Championship (Paris, France)

Winner: Egypt

  • BSPA UK Grand Prix, Boston Open – Men’s and Women’s

Winners: Kevin Moran (Scotland) and Millie Tomlinson (England)

  • Premier Squash League, round 4

Group A:

Birmingham v Pontefract: 3-2

Bristol v Nottingham: 4-1

Group B:

London Coolhurst v Surrey: 4-1

Schedule

PSA

  • IR Iran Navy Open 2016 (Tehran, Iran) – 5th to 9th of December - $5,000 (Men’s)
  • Sutton Coldfield International 2016 (Sutton Coldfield, England) – 5th to 10th of December - $5,000 (Men’s)
  • Open International des Volcans 2016 (Clermont-Ferrand, France) – 5th to 10th of December - $10,000 (Women’s)
  • Channel VAS St George's Hill Classic 2016 (Weybridge, England) – 6th to 12h of December - $100,000 (Men’s)
  • Life Time Florida Open (Boca Raton, United States) - 6th to 11h of December - $10,000 (Men’s)
  • Livestuff Open 2016 (Tuxedo Park, United States) - 6th to 11h of December - $5,000 (Women’s)
  • Question Tools Grimsby and Cleethorpes Open 2016 (Grimsby, England) - 7th to 11h of December - $5,000 (Men’s)

Others

  • Swiss Junior Open (Langnau am Albis, Switzerland) – 8th to 11th of December – Boys and girls, U13, U15, U17, U19
  • Bourse European Welsh Masters Open (Cardiff, Wales) - 9th to 11th of December – Men’s and women’s – from +35 to +70
  • Swedish National Championships (Stockholm, Sweden) - 9th to 11th of December – Men’s and women’s

 

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