I shall return, vows El Shorbagy
● World No 1 wows Edinburgh crowd as Scotland edge out Rest of World
0 Egypt’s world squash No 1 Mohamed El Shorbagy, back centre, with the Rest of the World and Scotland stars and a group of young players at Edinburgh Sports Club. World No 1 male squash player Mohamed El Shorbagy – who wowed the crowd in Edinburgh at the weekend as he turned out for the Rest of the World against Scotland – has vowed to return to play here again in the future.
It is not often that the best squash players in the world head north of the Border, so it was no surprise on Saturday to see Edinburgh Sports Club full to the brim with supporters and young local players keen to watch the Egyptian in action.
The 27-year-old teamed up with Englishman Joshua Matthews, Australian Donna Lobban and Karina Tyma from Poland.
In the Scotland team were Alan Clyne, Greg Lobban, Lisa Aitken and Georgia Adderley.
The end result of the team clash was 8-7 to Scotland, but more important than that was the exposure to the top players for the up and coming youngsters who were in the crowd.
Kevin Moran, a 27-year-old Scottish player who is now making waves in the coaching world, organised the event and explained: “This was the third year we have held something like this and year on year it is growing.
“I just think it is key to get some of the world’s best players up here to play, meet people and sign autographs and such like because it can inspire young players to try to take their squash to the next level and it also raises the profile of the sport in this country.
“At first I actually had men’s world No 3 Marwan El Shorbagy lined up to come up, but about ten days before the event he called me to say that he had picked up an injury and could not make it. I was panicking a bit at that stage, but Marwan said ‘I have sorted out a replacement for you’ and when he told me his brother, the world No 1, was going to be coming it was really exciting.
“The other three Rest of the World players are also top quality and well known while Alan, Greg, Lisa and Georgia are among the best players in Scotland.
“Mohamed was only here for a short time, but he could not have been nicer to deal with and he chatted to as many young players as he could.
“We even managed to give him a whistle-stop tour of Edinburgh and the Festival Fringe while on Sunday he got up early and, despite the poor weather, walked up Arthur’s Seat.”
El Shorbagy, who is currently based in Bristol, told Moran that he loved the weekend and wants to get back next year if his schedule allows.
“It was great to see Mohamed enjoying himself up here and the young players took a lot from just watching the way he plays and carries himself up close,” added Moran.
“Some of the squash on show was unbelievable and for myself as a development officer anything we can do to capture youngsters attention and make them focus on our sport can only be a good thing.”