Stars still feeling the pain after Worlds
By SEAN REUTHE
Egyptian World No.6 Ali Farag will take no part in the upcoming Qatar Classic after suffering a hip injury in training.
The 24-year-old Harvard graduate – who reached the quarter-final stage of the PSA Men’s World Championship last week in Cairo – will be replaced as the tournament’s number eight seed by Australian No.1 Cameron Pilley, with Pilley going up against a qualifier in the first round.
Meanwhile, Peruvian two-time World Junior Champion Diego Elias moves into the main draw and he will lock horns with World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy.
Farag’s withdrawal follows that of superstar Ramy Ashour. The World Championship runner-up to Karim Abdel Gawad on Friday, Ashour pulled out yesterday after failing to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up in Cairo.
The maverick Egyptian has suffered a barrage of hamstring injuries over the past two years, which ended an impressive unbeaten run as he imperiously ruled the world of squash. However, his body looked to be coping as he made it all the way to the final in Cairo.
But he was forced to shake hands in the fourth game of his clash with compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad, bringing a premature end to the match and preventing ‘The Artist’ from appearing in Qatar, the scene of two of his three World Championship triumphs.
The injury will also dent Ashour’s hopes of being one of the eight qualifiers for the season-ending Dubai PSA World Series Finals as he will be unable to accrue vital points on the PSA Road to Dubai Standings – where he currently sits in third place – with the Qatar Classic acting as the third stage on the PSA Road to Dubai.
Former world champion Gregory Gaultier has also withdrawn because of an ankle injury sustained in Cairo.
Revised Main Draw – 2016 Qatar Classic:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v Diego Elias (PER)
Leo Au (HKG) v [Qualifier]
James Willstrop (ENG) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[Qualifier] v [7] Simon Rösner (GER)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [4] Nick Matthew (EGY)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Tom Richards (ENG) v Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
Max Lee (HKG) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[Qualifier] v [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Qualifier]
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [Qualifier]
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [2] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
The qualifying stages of the 2016 Qatar Classic will take place on November 11-12, while the main draw begins a day later, with the final taking place on Friday November 18 – entry to the tournament is free of charge.
Picture courtesy of PSA