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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Supplement Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Second in London
WORLD No. 3 Ahmed Barada finished runner-up in the Masters Championship in London. The Egyptian champion, playing before a crowd of 300 British spectators and only a handful of Egyptians, lost to world champion Peter Nicol of Scotland 15-8, 9-15, 15-9 and 15-11 in 62 minutes. It was the second time Barada, 21, had lost to Nicol in the tournament, having been defeated by the Scotsman 3-1 in an earlier group encounter. The Masters drew the world's eight best players who were divided into two groups. The first and second-place finishers qualified for the semi-finals.
Barada, nicknamed the "young pharaoh", played only once before in the Masters, in 1996, finishing fourth. En route to the final, Barada played five matches, beating former No. 2 Rodney Eyles of Australia 3-0. Eyes is currently ranked sixth in the world. Barada also blanked Australia's world No. 8 Anthony Hill 3-0. In the semis, Barada sank Englishman Paul Johnson, the world's fourth ranked player, 3-0 before going down to Nicol. The result will not improve Barada's world ranking since no points are awarded for the Masters.
