Unfinished business as World Championship top seed Mohamed sets sights on Seattle success
By NATHAN CLARKE
Top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy has set his sights on glory at this months 2015 Men’s PSA World Championship in Seattle.
He insists that he is fully focused on lifting the sport’s most prestigious title when the event gets under way at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington on November 15.
World No.1 Elshorbagy lost out to fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour in both the 2012 and 2014 finals, with the latter in particular providing some stunning squash for spectators in Doha, and the 24-year-old clearly feels there is unfinished business to attend to as he sets his sights firmly on lifting the trophy on November 22.
“The World Championship is the only big title I haven’t won so all my focus since the summer has been on that event and I think everyone knows that lifting that trophy is my main goal,” said Elshorbagy, who triumphed at the 2015 Qatar Classic, PSA World Series tournament, in Qatar just three days ago.
“It is the biggest title in the sport. If you can only win one title then it’s the one that you want and it’s one that I’ve been dreaming of since I was a young kid.”
After a superb 2014-15 campaign which saw him take the coveted World No.1 spot and capture the prestigious Allam British Open, Elshorbagy says that the only thing missing from a glittering season was a World Championship triumph.
“Last season I set myself three goals, to become the World No.1, to win the British Open and to win the World Championship,” he said.
“The World Championship was the only one I didn’t achieve so I’m working as hard as I can to make sure that I peak for the World Championship this year. The schedule has been tough, playing the US Open then the Qatar Classic and then back to the United States but as a top professional athlete you have to deal with the situation you are in.”
Elshorbagy meets Alfredo Avila in round one and is seeded on the opposite side of the draw to Ashour, which means that a highly-anticipated repeat of last year’s spectacular showdown in Doha could be on the horizon.
The 2015 PSA Men’s World Championship gets under way between Sunday November 15 – Sunday November 22 in Bellevue, Washington at the Meydenbauer Center and tickets can be bought here: http://www.worldsquashchamps2015.com