England’s Joel Hinds became the first person to win a PSA World Tour title in the Poland capital Warsaw when he beat New Zealander Kashif Shuja in the final of the Grupa o2 Cup, a PSA Challenger 5 squash event at the city’s Kahuna Squash & Badminton club.
The 24-year-old top seed from Birmingham survived two four-game matches en-route to the final – his second Tour final of the year but the seventh of his career.
The experienced Kiwi Shuja, the second seed from Auckland, also overcame his semi-final opponent in four games – a win which resulted in the 32-year-old making the 19th Tour final of his career.
And Shuja, a former world No36, took the opening game as an upset looked on the cards.
But Hinds, a former World University champion ranked six places higher than his older opponent, regained the upper hand to close out the match 6-11, 11-5, 11-1, 11-8 in 58 minutes.
“I am very pleased to win this title and have enjoyed my time here very much,” said Hinds after securing the second PSA Tour title of his career – but his first for more than two years. “It was another tough game.
“I’d like to say a couple of thank yous: To Rob Owen and other coaches who have helped me and to my sponsors Black Knight & Ashaway.
“And I’d like to dedicate this win to my number one armchair sports fan, Chris Tasker-Grindley.”