Egyptian superstars for Dubai
DUBAI — Young Egyptian squash queens — Nour El Sherbini and teenage sensation Nouran Gohar — head a strong field of top eight players in the world after six fiercely contested tournaments around the world over the past six months for the season ending Dubai PSA World Series Finals from May 24 to 28.
Going into the final qualification event, the Allam British Open in Hull, England, which concluded earlier this week, the top four qualifiers were all guaranteed a coveted spot in the PSA World Series Finals which will be held in Dubai for the first time this year.
In a star-studded field, the list of qualifiers includes world number one Laura Massaro of England, world number five and 2016 Allam British Open winner Nour El Sherbini of Egypt, 8 time World Open champion Nicol David of Malaysia and world number 3 Egyptian Raneem El Welily.
World No.4 Camille Serme of France, No.6 Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt and No.7 Amanda Sobhy of USA, went into the British Open needing a victory in the first round to guarantee their places, and all three were up to the task, comfortably sealing their qualification spots.
The final spot came down to a duel in Round 2 between Egyptian teenage sensation Nouran Gohar and Hong Kong’s Annie Au - the only player who could usurp Gohar in the standings. World Junior Champion Gohar dominated from start to finish as she joined the elite group of stars to make what will be her first ever appearance in the iconic tournament.
“I remember watching the World Series Finals in 2012 and dreaming of being there and playing in that tournament,” said Nouran, “To be among the top eight is an amazing feeling. At the beginning of the season when it was announced that the World Series Finals would be in Dubai I knew straight away that I wanted to be there. I’ve been trying to do my best in each tournament but not putting too much pressure on myself either.”
Nouran went on to make the fi- nal of the British Open, meeting compatriot and three time world junior champion Nour El Sherbini. In a tightly contested match which saw the lead change hands multiple times, Nour triumphed, defeating Nouran 3-2 to become the tournament’s second youngest winner at just 20 years of age and the first Egyptian to take the title. Nour’s win will also see her go to number two in the world rankings.
“I’m really proud to be representing Egypt anywhere so to be the first Egyptian to win the British Open is a huge thing for me. I’m really proud to be one of the four finalists today. I’m really happy that Egypt is proud of me and I want to keep making them proud,” said Nour.
“When I was growing up looking at all the top players, I never thought I would be one of them.”
The men’s qualifiers will be decided after the final event, the El Gouna International in April, but is certain to feature Egyptian world number one Mohamed Elshorbagy who captured his fifth Series title in a row in Hull.