Last month saw Egyptian players pull off stunning wins at the World Squash Championships in Manchester, UK. British-based siblings, Marwan El-Shorbagy and Mohamed El-Shorbagy downed fellow Egyptian Ali Farag and the world’s number one Gregory Gaultier from France to end up battling each other in the men’s finals. It is the first time in the history of the Squash World Championships that two brothers have competed in the final, and although 24-year old Marwan put up a brave challenge, it was 26-year old Mohamed who took home the prize. This is his first world title after narrowly finishing runner-up twice in the last six years. Mohamed’s win crowns a season in which he has now won five titles, playing 31 matches with only one defeat.
In the ladies’ tournament, reigning champion Nour El Sherbini faced off against compatriot and the world’s second best, Raneem El Weleily. In the last World Championship, held in El Gouna in April 2017 it was Nour El Sherbini who came out on top, but in Manchester last month her compatriot El Weleily managed to take the honors.
El Sherbini played against fellow Egyptian Nour El Tayeb to reach the final in order to compete against El Weleily, who had managed an easy win over France’s Camille Serme. The final offered plenty of excitement, as in the early stages it looked as though El Sherbini was going to walk away with the title again. After being down at the end of the first game however, El Weleily drew on her reserves and battled her way to a clear win.
The latest wins have thrown the spotlight again on the exceptional skill of Egyptian players who, time after time, are capturing the top titles in the highly competitive squash circuit.
