Gawad Is Egyptian People Champion
13 August 2011
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Egyptian People Tournament, Cairo, Egypt
Final:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [3] Ali Farag (EGY) 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8
Karim Abdel Gawad claimed the sixth PSA World Tour title of his career after overcoming fellow Egyptian Ali Farag in the final of the inaugural Egyptian People Tournament, the PSA Challenger 10 squash event at the Heliopolis Clubin Cairo.
For the second time in the tournament, the 20-year-old favourite dropped the opening game as Farag, the third seed from Cairo, bid to record the first ever win over his fellow countryman.
But Alexandria-born Gawad fought back to take the next two games before Farag again reclaimed the upper hand to draw level.
World No38 Gawad was able to reassert his authority in the decider, however, and kept his lower-ranked opponent at bay to record his 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 victory.
The title triumph marks not only Gawad’s first of the year, but his first Tour success on home soil.
Gawad & Farag Make Cairo Final
12 August 2011
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Egyptian People Tournament, Cairo, Egypt
Semi-finals:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8
[3] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-1, 11-13, 11-3, 11-6
Karim Abdel Gawad and Ali Farag will meet in an all-Egyptian final of the inaugural Egyptian People Tournamentafter four-game victories in the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at the Heliopolis Club inCairo.
Third seed Farag ended the run of unseeded compatriot Marwan El Shorbagy, the 18-year-old from Alexandria who has been enjoying an impressive run on the PSA Tour since becoming the world junior champion last month.
But Farag, the 19-year-old world No73 from Cairo, beat fellow teenager El Shorbagy – now ranked five places higher – 11-1, 11-13, 11-3, 11-6 to reach the fourth Tour final of his career.
Gawad, the top seed, faced fellow Cairo-based Andrew Wagih Shoukry, the No4 seed. The 20-year-old world No38 overcame Shoukry 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 to reach the eighth final of his career.
But whilst Gawad is celebrating his first final appearance of the year – and his first on home soil – his final opponent Farag will be looking for his third Tour title of 2011.
Marwan Makes Cairo Quarters
11 August 2011
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Egyptian People Tournament, Cairo, Egypt
Quarter-finals:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Wael Farag (EGY) 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5
[4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY) 11-6, 12-10, 11-7
[3] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 11-3, 12-10, 11-8
Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 8-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8
Egyptian teenager Marwan El Shorbagy became the only unseeded player to reach the quarter-finals of the inauguralEgyptian People Tournament after beating compatriot Karim Ali Fathi in the second round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at the Heliopolis Club in Cairo.
Fathi, a qualifier, made his breakthrough in the opening round where he knocked out second seed Omar Abdel Aziz.
And the 18-year-old from Cairo took the opening two games against El Shorbagy, also 18, but ranked more than 130 places higher in the world rankings.
But El Shorbagy, the recently-crowned world junior champion, dug deep and – taking advantage of a hamstring injury sustained by Fathi early in the third game – took control of the match to draw level before claiming victory in an 8-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8 scoreline.
El Shorbagy will now face third seed Ali Farag following the 19-year-old from Cairo’s 11-3, 12-10, 11-8 win over fellow countryman Omar Abdel Meguid.
The other semi will also be an all-Egyptian affair, between top seed Karim Abdel Gawad and Andrew Wagih Shoukry, the No4 seed.
Gawad, the Alexandria-born world No38, recovered from a game to beat Ali Farag‘s older brother Wael Farag 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, while Shoukry despatched Mazen Gamal 11-6, 12-10, 11-7.
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY)
Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) v [3] Ali Farag (EGY)
Qualifier Karim Ousts Aziz In Cairo
10 August 2011
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Egyptian People Tournament, Cairo, Egypt
1st round:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Amr Ramsy Swelim (ITA) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2
Wael Farag (EGY) bt Ahmed Hawas (EGY) 11-9, 11-13 ret.
Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt Omar Khaled Kheiralla (EGY) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
[4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt [Q] Mohammed El Kamash (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5
[3] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [Q] Karim Ayman Elhammamy (EGY) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9
Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) 11-2, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8
Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Ahmad Alzabidi (JOR) 11-4, 11-4, 11-7
[Q] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt [2] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 6-11, 16-14, 11-8, 11-8
Egyptian teenager Karim Ali Fathi caused a sensational upset in the inaugural Egyptian People Tournament when he beat second-seeded compatriot Omar Abdel Aziz in the opening round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at the Heliopolis Club in Cairo.
Experienced Aziz, the 27-year-old world No45 from Cairo, took the opening game. But 18-year-old Fathi, a qualifier coached in the UK by former England international Phil Whitlock, survived a lengthy second tie-break game before going on to close out the match 6-11, 16-14, 11-8, 11-8 and record one of the best wins of his career.
Fathi will now face another rising star of Egyptian squash Marwan El Shorbagy. The 18-year-old from Alexandria, who became the world junior champion in considerable style last month in Belgium, took just three games to dismiss Jordan’sAhmad Alzabidi 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 to earn a place in the Tour event’s quarter-finals.
Event favourite Karim Abdel Gawad cruised into the last eight. The Cairo-based 20-year-old despatched Cairo-born Italian Amr Ramsy Swelim 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 and will now take on fellow countryman Wael Farag for a place in the semi-finals.
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Wael Farag (EGY)
[4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) v Mazen Gamal (EGY)
[3] Ali Farag (EGY) v Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
[Q] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY)