Coll and Asal in line for Black Ball battle
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Correspondent
Paul Coll will be looking for revenge if he faces world junior champion Mostafa Asal in the forthcoming CIB Black Ball Squash Open in Cairo.
The draws for the men’s and women’s PSA World Tour Gold tournaments have been released, with all eyes on a potential second round match-up between World No.5 Coll and World Junior Champion Asal.
Their highly-charged battle at the Great Pyramid of Giza last month caused huge controversy within the sport.
Firstly, New Zealander Coll complained about Asal’s behaviour during the match and was furious at the way the youngster tore off his shirt as he clinched a 12-10 victory in the fifth game after a brutal and sometimes bitter contest lasting 103 minutes.
The 19-year-old Asal claimed one of the biggest wins of his burgeoning career when he ousted Coll in a feisty, five-game battle at the CIB Egyptian Open, resulting in jubilant celebrations that saw the young Egyptian tear off his shirt and throw it into the crowd in incredible scenes.
New Zealand’s Coll will be out for revenge in Cairo this time around but must take on Germany’s Raphael Kandra in round one, and he will face Asal in the last 16 if the World No.14 can beat Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.
Asal will be returning to action after missing the Qatar Classic because of a Covid issue.
World No.1 Ali Farag is the top seed for the men’s event and will take on Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu in round one, while his fellow Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad – who won the inaugural men’s Black Ball Open in 2018 – plays compatriot Mohamed ElSherbini in the opening round.
Meanwhile, World Champion Tarek Momen is drawn against wildcard Ahmed Wael in the opening round, and he is seeded to play Gawad in the semi-finals.
The Black Ball Open will feature a women’s tournament between December 7-12, followed by a men’s event between December 13-18 in what will be the final PSA World Tour event of 2020. Equal prize money of $112,500 is on offer in both events.
In the women’s tournament, four-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini will play her first match since reclaiming the World No.1 spot from Nouran Gohar and takes on Zeina Mickawy in the opening round.
The 25-year-old, a two-time Black Ball Open runner-up, is seeded to meet World No.3 Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals, but El Tayeb must negotiate a draw that could see her come up against defending champion Hania El Hammamy in the quarter-finals.
On the bottom half of the draw, No.2 seed Gohar lines up against Farida Mohamed and has the likes of World No.4 Camille Serme, World No.6 Sarah-Jane Perry and World No.8 Joelle King on her side of the draw.
World No.53 Menna Nasser takes the women’s wildcard spot and she will take on the experienced Alison Waters in round one.
All 62 matches across the men’s and women’s events will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by contracted broadcasters.
The tournament will abide by strict COVID-19 protocols with relation to health and safety, international travel policies and social distancing guidelines.
2020 CIB Black Ball Squash Open, Black Ball Sporting Club, Cairo, Egypt. Women’s event December 7-12. Men’s event December 13-18.
Men’s Draw:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [16] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[9] Joel Makin (WAL) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
James Willstrop (ENG) v [7] Simon Rösner (GER)
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Youssef Soliman (EGY)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [13] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[14] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v [4] Paul Coll (NZL)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v [11] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
[12] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Greg Lobban (SCO)
Declan James (ENG) v [6] Diego Elias (PER)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Borja Golan (ESP)
Zahed Salem (EGY) v [10] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
[15] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[WC] Ahmed Wael (EGY) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Women’s Draw:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) v [10] Salma Hany (EGY)
[9] Tesni Evans (WAL) v Tinne Gilis (BEL)
Olivia Fiechter (USA) v [7] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[5] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Nadine Shahin (EGY)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) v [13] Olivia Clyne (USA)
[12] Nele Gilis (BEL) v Nada Abbas (EGY)
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v Melissa Alves (FRA)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) v [15] Yathreb Adel (EGY)
[11] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Julianne Courtice (ENG)
Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
[8] Joelle King (NZL) v Donna Lobban (AUS)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [14] Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
[16] Alison Waters (ENG) v [WC] Menna Nasser (EGY)
Farida Mohamed (EGY) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Pictures courtesy of PSA