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25 Dec 2017

MUST READ! Year in Review: A Look Back at 2017 – Part Two


 
Ali Farag (left) Nour El Tayeb (right) with their U.S. Open titles
Following on from part one of our review of the year, we take a look back at the second half of 2017.
Check out part one here.


Team Nigeria Triumphs at the just concluded safe guard Zimbabwe open squash championship


Ashour returns from injury to win China Open
Egypt’s former World No.1 Ramy Ashour and Women’s World No.1 Nour El Sherbini claimed the honours at the 2017 J.P. Morgan China Open, prevailing in two all-Egyptian title-deciders to take the first major honours of the 2017/18 PSA World Tour season.
Ashour – who had struggled with injury towards the end of the 2016/17 season – looked back to his best as he saw off tournament top seed and compatriot Ali Farag to take the title. Whilst, in the women’s event El Sherbini saw off compatriot Nouran Gohar in straight games to seal her first title win of the season.
Matthew Announces Retirement Plans
England’s three-time World Champion and former World No.1 Nick Matthew announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2017/18 season.

 MUST READ! Nigeria's Squash Queen, Yemisi Olatunji still making waves in the UK after her outstanding performance at the just concluded Ipswich Squash tourney.... 

 
ElShorbagy and Perry Lift Oracle NetSuite Open Titles
Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and England’s Sarah-Jane Perry lifted the Men’s and Women’s Oracle NetSuite Open, respectively, back in October.
ElShorbagy looked like a man back in form as he begun the new campaign in style with victory over then-World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in straight games.
For Perry, she had to overcome Malaysia’s eight-time World Champion Nicol David in the final, which she managed in a thrilling five-game encounter, which saw her come from 2-0 down to win and claim her biggest title.
Farag and El Tayeb Make History at U.S. Open
Egyptian couple Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb wrote their names into the history books as they triumphed at the 2017 U.S. Open to become the first married couple in sporting history ever to win the same major sports title on the same day.
The duo – who married last year – defied the odds to defeat higher seeded and higher ranking opposition to secure the titles, the first PSA World Series titles of both of their careers.
ElShorbagy Captures Qatar Classic Title
ElShorbagy continued his impressive run of form that has seen him reach the final of every tournament his has played in during the 2017/18 season as he added his third Qatar Classic title of his career to his collection.
The Egyptian came up against compatriot and surprise finalist Tarek Momen in the final and claimed a 3-1 victory.
 
Chamberlain Squash Open: Ford, Broekman, Ajagbe Make Last Four
 
ElShorbagy and El Sherbini Claim Hong Kong Open Titles
ElShorbagy and El Sherbini triumphed in Hong Kong at the final World Series event of the year.
The Egyptians ensured the Hong Kong Open titles remained in Egyptian hands after they beat compatriots Farag and El Welily, respectively.

Yemisi Olatunji Emerged second Runner up at Namibia Open Squash Championship

 
El Welily and ElShorbagy Claim World Championship Titles
Egyptian duo Raneem El Welily and Mohamed ElShorbagy claimed the Women’s and Men’s World Championship titles, respectively, as they triumphed in Manchester.
For both it proved to be third time lucky, as the two players had finished runner-up on two previous occasions, however, the duo put on a superb display in the finals to secure the sport’s most prestigious title at Manchester Central Convention Complex.
World No.2 ElShorbagy faced his younger brother Marwan in the final in what was the first time two brothers had contested the final of the iconic tournament in its 41-year history.
A nail biting encounter went all the way down to the wire, until 26-year-old Mohamed fired off seven successive points from 6-4 down in the decider to capture the biggest title in squash.
Meanwhile, El Welily came from a game down against Nour El Sherbini – in a repeat of April’s final – as she claimed the first World Championship title of her career.
The past 12 months have been some of the most memorable in history of the PSA World Tour, and 2018 looks set to be even better as the sport continues to flourish.
We hope you can join us but, in the meantime, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the PSA World Tour team.

Jordan’s Al Sarraj wins Prague squash title


 
Mohammad Al Sarraj has ended his successful year on a high by winning the Prague Open Squash Championships in the Czech Republic on Sunday, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.
Sarraj took the title after beating Wales’s Emyr Evans, 3-2, in the final. Earlier, he beat the host nation’s Viktor Byrtus, 3-2, and Finland’s Miko Aijanen, 3-1. In the semifinal he beat England’s Lyell Full.
It brings a glorious year to a close for the 19 year old, with the highlight of winning the 24th Asian Junior Squash Championships in Amman.

Mohamed and Raneem claim first world titles in Manchester







 
Egyptians Mohamed El Shorbagy and Raneem El Welily clinched the men’s and women’s World Squash Championships titles for the first time.
World No. 2 Mohamed, who lost in the 2012 and 2014 finals to compatriot Ramy Ashour, downed his younger brother and world No. 5 Marwan in the final in Manchester on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Mohamed won 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 in 71 minutes.
“I’ve waited a lot of years for this title. And to have this match against my brother, to share such a moment between the both of us is really special,” said Mohamed.
In the women’s final, world No. 2 Raneem ended compatriot and world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini’s two-year reign as world champion with a 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 win.
The 28-year-old Raneem, who lost to Nour last year, was also beaten by Nicol David in the 2014 final.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/squash/2017/12/19/mohamed-and-raneem-claim-first-world-titles-in-manchester/#DqVsjoq4x0HAg54W.99

Six players qualify for main round of Pakistan Open Squash








It was a heartening news for the squash lovers in the country today, when six Pakistani squash players qualified for Pakistan Open Mens’ Squash Championship being played at Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad. Syed Ali Bukhari, Kashif Asif, Waqar Mehboob, Shah Jahan Khan, Shoaib Hassan and Asim Khan won their matches on the 2nd qualifying round today and earned their place in the main round of the coveted Championship.
Four matches were also played in the CAS International Women Squash Championship in which Enora Villard, Nouran El Torky, Hana Moataz and Hana Ramadan defeated their opponents to book their place in the main draw. Detailed results of matches are as under:-
CAS International Women
1. Enora Villard (Fra) beat Farah Momen (Egy) 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6 (43 Min) 2. Nouran El Torky (Egy) beat Nadia Pfister (Sui) 11-5, 17-15, 11-1 (30 Min) 3. Hana Moataz (Egy) beat Arezoosadat Mousavizadeh (Iri) 11-1, 11-5, 11-6 (17 Min) 4. Hana Ramadan (Egy) beat Sachika Ingale (Ind) 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 (33 Min)
Pakistan Open Men
1. Syed Ali Bukhari (Pak) beat Danish Atlas (Pak) 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 (34 Min) 2. Kashif Asif (Pak) beat Sean Conory (Irl) 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (48 Min) 3. Waqar Mehboob (Pak) beat Raees Khan (Pak) 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 (35 Min) 4. Shahjahan Khan (Pak) beat Faraz Muhammad (Pak) 11-7, 11-6, 11-2 (27 Min) 5. Rui Soares (Por) beat Waqas Mehboob (Pak) 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (42 Min) 6. Shoaib Hassan(Pak) beat Zeeshan Khan (Pak) 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-2 (55 Min) 7. Asim Khan (Pak) beat Sadam Ul Haq (Pak) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 (29 Min) 8. Adeen Idrakie (Mas) beat Bilal Zakir (Pak) 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (34 Min).

The Greatest player of Squash ( Exclusive interview with Jahangir Khan )

Jahangir Khan is known as the greatest squash player ever, He became world amateur champion at the age of 15. Winning 10 British open championships, six world open championships and winning 555 consecutive matches over 5 years and 8 months

 The Greatest player of Squash Jahangir Khan
We are grateful that we had a chance to interview the greatest guy ever to play squash.
How do you feel about the revival of Squash in Pakistan?
It feels very good to see International level Squash back in Pakistan, now due to these tournaments our players can learn more so they will be better tactically and physically. It is very satisfactory to see international level players from all around the world in Pakistan fighting for greater prize money and a better tournament which has improved dramatically in past few years.
How these international tournaments can improve in Pakistan?
Well it is very hard to judge the efforts of PSA but we can improve by organising more tournaments in other cities with better prize money, we should introduce more categories for young players and females so they can improve their game to become more professional and they can fight for trophies and championships on other  higher level.
Do you think we need to improve our squash facilities?
Improving Squash will produce new talent which will carry the legacy of the legends of our country which was the best squash playing nation during 70s and 80s. We need to improve the quality of courts,coaching and we need to start squash awareness programs, it is important to spread this game to other cities such as Quetta,Gilgit and Kashmir.
How Pakistani players can improve to become legends of this game?
Our young players should focus more on their fitness, they should improve their gameplay duration and they need to play more around the world so they can fight for better tournaments which will increase their rankings.
How Organization of Pakistan airforce and Serena hotel is improving the tournaments in Pakistan?
They have done a superb job by providing high quality facilities for playing squash, this will help us to attract more international players every year. Air chief and organisers also did a marvellous job by providing security to foreign players.
Serena hotel is also doing a good job by sponsoring squash and tennis events as this will help to improve the level of tournaments in Pakistan.

COPIED

Sudbury squash pairing pushing the boundaries of the sport

 
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Mike McCue helped the Canadian entry at the Men's World Team Squash Championships in Marseille (France) to a 13th place finish. (File)
The Sudbury squash "dynamic duo" are at it again.
His reputation in these parts already well established, Lockerby Composite graduate Mike McCue recently helped the Canadian entry at the Men's World Team Squash Championships in Marseille (France) to a 13th place finish, beating by one their pre-tournament ranking of 14th in the world.
Canada would slip past Switzerland 2-1 in the 13th/14th place ranking match, with McCue recording a straight-set victory over Roman Allinckx 11-9, 11-5, 11-3. Nick Sachvie fell to Nicolas Muller 9-11, 4-11, 4-11, but Shawn De Lierre survived a five-set marathon with Dimitri Steinmann, 11-9, 17-15, 10-12, 4-11, 11-7 to give Canada the win.
Canada finished second in Pool "C" pay, losing 3-0 to France but defeating Ireland by that same margin as 24 countries battled it out for global supremacy on the court.
In the end, Egypt retained their spot at #1, besting England 2-0, while Australia and Hong Kong shared third place honours, the latter after staging one of the major upsets of the tournament, beating France in the quarter-finals to reach the final four for the very first time.
In the meantime, Charles de la Riva wrapped up a hectic stretch that would see him devoting countless hours to squash, including some time spent in Mexico working on his game.
The grade 12 student at Collège Notre-Dame recently participated at the 2017 Canadian Junior Open Squash Championships in Niagara Falls, competing in the Boys U19 classification.
De la Riva dropped his first round match to Noel Heaton from Calgary (11-3, 11-7, 11-8), but bounced back to knock off Mexican entry and friend Carlos Ramon Martinez, 11-2, 11-7, 13-11.
The local product would be eliminated in round three of consolation play, falling to Joel Arscott of Australia, 6-11, 5-11, 5-11. The event would also see younger sibling Robert de la Riva involved in the action in the Boys U15 grouping.
The Sudbury YMCA trained talent was beaten in back to back games, losing 4-11, 7-11, 4-11 to Syan Singh of Toronto and 3-11, 3-11, 8-11 to Pierce Terry of Australia.
As for McCue, he remained overseas, taking part first in the A.J. Bell PSA World Championships in Manchester, England. Currently ranked 106th in the world, McCue bested Aqeel Rehman of Austria (#103) 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8, before losing in four sets to Iker Pajares Bernabeu of Spain (#61 - 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 9-11).
The heavy workload seems to take its toll on McCue one week later as he would be upset by Yuri Farneti of Italy (ranked #204), 11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 5-11, while taking part in the Men's International D'Italia in Riccione, Italy.

ElShorbagy Lifts Pakistan Open Title

 

Marwan ElShorbagy (right) v Mohamed Abouelghar (left)

World No.5 Marwan ElShorbagy prevailed in the final of the 2017 Pakistan Open Men’s Squash Championships after he beat fellow Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar to lift the PSA M50 title – less than a week after he lost out to older brother Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final of the PSA Men’s World Championships.
ElShorbagy went down to a narrow 3-2 defeat against his sibling in the final of the sport’s biggest tournament last week and had just a single day off in between that match and his first round fixture in Pakistan, with the 24-year-old jetting off on an early-morning flight the day after the World Championship final.
But, at the Mushaf Squash Complex & PSB Roshan Khan Squash Complex in Islamabad, ElShorbagy showed no signs of fatigue as he failed to drop a game en route to the final, overcoming Chi Him Wong, Mohd Syafiq Kamal, Mazen Hesham and Zahed Mohamed, all by a 3-0 margin.
He started where he left off in the final against World No.11 Mohamed Abouelghar and dropped just three points in an opening game victory before Abouelghar fought back to take the second, becoming the first player in the tournament to take a game off ElShorbagy.
But the Bristol-based Egyptian wasn’t to be denied and he found his rhythm again in the final two games to complete an 11-3, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 victory, capturing the seventh PSA World Tour title of his career and capping off a fine end to 2017.

World No.5 Marwan ElShorbagy prevailed in the final of the 2017 Pakistan Open Men’s Squash Championships after he beat fellow Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar to lift the PSA M50 title – less than a week after he lost out to older brother Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final of the PSA Men’s World Championships.
ElShorbagy went down to a narrow 3-2 defeat against his sibling in the final of the sport’s biggest tournament last week and had just a single day off in between that match and his first round fixture in Pakistan, with the 24-year-old jetting off on an early-morning flight the day after the World Championship final.
But, at the Mushaf Squash Complex & PSB Roshan Khan Squash Complex in Islamabad, ElShorbagy showed no signs of fatigue as he failed to drop a game en route to the final, overcoming Chi Him Wong, Mohd Syafiq Kamal, Mazen Hesham and Zahed Mohamed, all by a 3-0 margin.
He started where he left off in the final against World No.11 Mohamed Abouelghar and dropped just three points in an opening game victory before Abouelghar fought back to take the second, becoming the first player in the tournament to take a game off ElShorbagy.
But the Bristol-based Egyptian wasn’t to be denied and he found his rhythm again in the final two games to complete an 11-3, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 victory, capturing the seventh PSA World Tour title of his career and capping off a fine end to 2017.
Result – Final: 2017 Pakistan Open Men’s Squash Championships
[1] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [2] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 (38m)

Ali Farag chosen as chief of squash men players

 World No. 3 according to PSA, Ali Farag – Courtesy of Ali Farag`s official account on Facebook

CAIRO – 24 December 2017: Ali Farag, Egyptian Wadi Degla player who is also ranked third in PSA World Series rankings and a Squash U.S. Open title holder, is chosen to be the chief of squash men players and their representative in the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

Farag succeeds the English legend James Willstrop, the former squash player ranked first, to be the new president for the next six years.

"I am proud of my candidacy and my election as the chief of squash men players and I represent them and I think that the game is going in the right direction and that the Egyptian squash players are on a steady pace to strengthen their position in this international game and to emphasize Egypt's global squash leadership," Ali Farag said.

Ziyad El-Turky, head of the Egyptian Squash Association, congratulated the Egyptian player for taking over the position and expressed his happiness and looked forward to working with him throughout his presidency.

Marwan crowned Pakistan Open Squash champion

 
ISLAMABAD - Magician Marwan El Shorbagy outpaced countryman Mohamed Abouelghar 3-1 to become crowned champion of the Serena Hotels Pakistan Open Men’s Squash Championship 2017 played here at Mushaf Squash Complex Saturday.
Marwan simply routed Abouelghar in the first game to take it 11-3 in only 7 minutes. Abouelghar started the second game on aggressive mood and put Marwan under tremendous pressure, which helped him win the second game 11-7 in 12 minutes. Marwan then started playing very aggressively, played outstanding squash and raced on to win the third game 11-8 in 12 minutes.
It was one-way traffic in the fourth game, which was fully dominated by Marwan , who first toyed with his opponent and then played some match-winning shots to take the game 11-6 in 8 minutes, thus won the final in just 39 minutes. Soon after winning the final, Marwan bowed down on the floor to pay thanks to Almighty, then both the players hugged each other, and Abouelghar then congratulated Marwan for his title victory.
Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff, who is also Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) President, graced the final as chief guest and awarded trophies to the players. Former world squash champions Jahangir Khan, Qamar Zaman Khan and PAF officers and a great number of squash lovers were also present on the occasion.
Serena Hotels Pakistan Open Squash Championship 2017, carried a prize purse of $50,000, returned to Pakistan after a lapse of 10 years. The qualifying round started form December 17, while the main round commenced from 19th. As many as 24 international players from different countries along with Pakistani players participated in the event, but to the utter disappointment of local crowd, none of the Pakistani players even managed to play in the quarterfinals, which is a huge set back and a question mark on their commitment. The PSF must take stern notice of their failure, while it also shows that the PNSA is not delivering.
The arrangement made by the Pakistan Squash Federation was highly appreciable, as despite having only 800 seats available and knowing the fact, top international male and female players have arrived the country, the federation ensured no one might leave out. The PSF provided passes to not only PAF and sponsors, but also to commoners and for the very first time sports journalists didn’t face even minor issue to perform their official duties. Even though a few sports journalists didn’t even had accreditation cards, but Squadron Leader Wasim and others were present at the entry points to ensure smooth entry for all the journalists.
The federation must pay heed towards irresponsible and unacceptable rude behaviour of Pakistan National Squash Academy Director Air Commodore (R) Aftab Sadiq Qureshi, who always has attitude problem and create troubles for the federation, players and journalists. The gentleman doesn’t know the ABC of squash , but was appointed as PNSA director, just because of his close links with the high ups. He was reported for creating troubles on a number of occasions in the past too, but no heed was paid. Even former greats and players have several times reported about his non-professional behaviour and attitude, but nothing was done practically. The time is high when such non-technocrat person must be sent packing, as Pakistan squash has already suffering and going down with each passing day.
Some certain circles are blaming the PSF for wasting money by holding international tournaments and advising the federation to spend money on juniors and senior players, but these elements completely forget that the players are not even giving ordinary results. It takes around Rs 1.2 million on a single player to send him in the PSA events, and if they don’t perform, then it is the real wastage of money.
The money can be utilized in the best possible manner by hosting maximum PSA events in Pakistan , but PSA is another major obstacle, as they are sighting so-called security issues and don’t allow Pakistan to conduct major events and always issue negative warning to the players. The federation must be given credit for hosting major events, providing facilities, accommodation and each and every thing to the players, who mostly flop in international events.

Seasons Greetings to all our Customers, Fans, Family, Squash Players across the Globe and Friends

Seasons Greetings to all our Customers, Fans, Family, Squash Players across the Globe and Friends.

Seizing this opportunity to appreciate the entire members, PSA-professional squash Athlete, WSF, NSF (Nigeria Squash Federation) crew, NSF President in Person of Mr Boye OYERINDE, PSPAN, Lagos Country Club (squash section), Apapa Sport Club (squash section), Ikoyi club(squash section), Unilag Staff Club (squash section), OAU squash club, O'trafford ikoyi, Eagles club Lagos, Ibadan recreational club(squash section), Owerri sport club, Abuja, Delta, Benin, Ilorin, calabar, Uyo, Kaduna, kano-squash clubs, UPDC, Golden Tulip Hotel(squash section), Cargolux Air line, Hot sport, Shakiru Marti Squash Academy Canada, Adekunle Adebiyi Sport and many others for their Support over the years. From Naija Squash Media we just want to say THANK YOU for your Patronage!!!!!





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