Egyptian duo Mostafa Asal and Nour El Sherbini have been crowned the 2024 CIB Egyptian Open champions after No.3 seed Asal took down men’s World No.1 Ali Farag and women’s World No.1 El Sherbini ended her four-match losing streak against Nouran Gohar.
The championship, played on the state of the art all-glass show court at Club O West, Cairo, was the first ever Diamond-level event of a newly-restructured PSA Squash Tour, and featured a main draw of 96 players across the men’s and women’s events battling it out for the lion’s share of a $650,000USD prize pot.
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In front of a packed and raucous crowd, Asal began with a brutal onslaught against his compatriot, with the 23-year-old threatening to bagel the four-time world champion as he took the first nine points en route to an 11-3 game one win.
Game two was a far more competitive affair, with Asal – whose momentum was briefly checked by a head injury – doubling his advantage via tie break after saving a game ball.
Another meeting in a final between these two 🍿
Defending CIB Egyptian Open champion @AliFarag and @mostafasal_ went head-to-head in the first Diamond-level event decider 💎
Highlights👇 pic.twitter.com/Zpi2senkEb
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) September 7, 2024
An improving Farag then struck back 11-5 in game three, but could not stop a resurgent Asal in game four, with ‘the Raging Bull’ charging back to clinch the title with a deserved 11-8 win.
Afterwards, Asal said: “Ali’s the best player in the world. He’s such a legend, and playing with him is such an honour for me. He’s giving the best for our sport. As an athlete, I’ve looked up to how intense he’s playing and how fair he’s playing as well.”
In the women’s final, El Sherbini avenged her world championship final defeat to her old rival Gohar with an exhilarating comeback.
Tonight’s match was the 35th instalment of a spectacular rivalry between the pair, and the 22nd in a final, with the two engaged in a fascinating wrestle for the honour of being World No.1 in recent seasons.
Cairo native Gohar went into the match with a fantastic recent record against the Alexandrian and the 26-year-old finished last season on a tidal wave of good results, racking up 29 consecutive wins which included championship final victories over El Sherbini in the World Championship, the World Tour Finals, the El Gouna International and the British Open.
It initially looked like the World No.2 would continue this streak and close the gap further on El Sherbini, with Gohar dominating the first game 11-5.
The Club O West crowd was then treated to a vintage El Sherbini performance, with the 28-year-old – whose form and fitness were called into question earlier in the tournament after some indifferent performances – shaking off that disappointment and going on the attack, stunning Gohar with a hat trick of 11-8 wins to capture the title.
Afterwards, El Sherbini said: “It’s very special of course, the first event of the season, the first Diamond event, and of course in Egypt. It’s always special playing in front of this amazing crowd and in front of your team, family and everyone coming all this way to watch.
“She’d got me the last four times and was the best player to be honest in the second half of last season.
“I turned the page and I just wanted a new plan and a new way on court.”
For all four finalists, attention turns to the Platinum-level Paris Squash 2024, which is taking place September 15-21 at Cirque D’Hiver.
Result: CIB Egyptian Open 2024 Women’s Final
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (70m)
Result: CIB Egyptian Open 2024 Men’s Final
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 13-11, 5-11, 11-8 (82m)