Photo credit: Ahram Online
Egyptian squash players Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal emerged triumphant at the 2024 British Open, claiming victory over fellow Egyptians Nour El-Sherbini and Ali Farag in the finals held on Sunday.
Gohar, ranked second in the world, secured her second British Open title by defeating El-Sherbini in a thrilling five-set match with scores of 11-6, 17-15, 3-11, 7-11, and 11-4.
Reflecting on her intense match against El-Sherbini, Gohar commented, “It felt like a never-ending story today, although I was 2-0 up.”
She praised El-Sherbini’s fighting spirit, stating, “El-Sherbini won her first World Championships title from 2-0 down, so if anyone can come back, it is her. She played better when she was down, and I tried to prepare for that, but it was very difficult to stop.”
The 26-year-old Gohar recently clinched her first World Championship title in May, defeating El-Sherbini 3-1.
She also mentioned the satisfaction and joy she felt after her recent World Championships win, adding, “This week it was more about enjoying myself, proving to myself before anyone else that I am the best right now.”
In the men’s final, world number four Mostafa Asal clinched his first British Open title by overcoming top-ranked Ali Farag in a tense match that lasted 79 minutes.
Asal secured his win with scores of 11-5, 2-11, 13-11, 4-11, and 12-10. Emotional after his victory, Asal remarked, “It’s unbelievable. I’m almost running out of words, I’m almost crying! To win against Paul [Coll] and Ali [Farag], it’s amazing.”
“At the beginning of the season, I had no structure until I went to Pontefract to work with James [Willstrop]. To play the squash that I’m winning at the moment is all credit to them,” noted Asal, as he reflected on his performance this season.
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