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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Taking the world by storm
By Nashwa Abdel-Tawab
(r-l): Barada squashing Power in Alexandria; Al-Ahram's glass squash court in Montazah; Darwish, world's junior champion
photos: Hussein Fathi
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Egyptian squash has long been a force around the world. But this past weekend was witness to a dominance unprecedented and seemingly unsurpassable In the Alexandria four-player exhibition, world no.3 Ahmed Barada entertained Egyptian fans with a 3-2 comeback victory over Canadian world no. 2 Jonathon Power. Playing against a spectacular background of the Mediterranean Sea, Barada ousted Power 10-15, 15-9 13-15, 15-10, and 15-12.
"I'm very glad to come back to court and win," said Barada, thanking all those who stood beside after his accident in early March when he was stabbed twice in the back with a knife.
The ten-week injury lay-off ended with a bang, however, with Barada beating Australian world no. 7 Anthony Hill 3-1 on the first day of the four-day event. It was a bang which transcended borders and time zones -- inspiring his colleagues to make put off their own bangs too.
Across the waters to another Mediterranean city, Karim Darwish earned a place as Egypt's third World Junior Champion, with a 3-0 victory over European Champion Gregory Gaultier in last week's final of the Men's World Junior Squash Championship in Milan, Italy.
Despite a record attraction of 170 players from 39 nations, Darwish proved his metal. Leaving his four Egyptian compatriots -- Mustafa Essam, Akram Youssef, Mahmoud Abdel-Kader and Hisham Ashour -- in the dust, Darwish maintained his impressive run of form with a 9-6, 9-4, 9-3, 49-minute victory over Shahid Zaman in the semi-finals.
Zaman, who beat Darwish in the third round of the same event two years ago, was taken aback by his new-found form; simply unable to handle Darwish's strength, speed and precision.
His superb play made him the hot favourite going into the match, and he quickly proved that the stakes were accurate, racing to an 8-0 lead, and taking the first game 9-1.
From 0-3 in the second, Gaultier levelled it at 3-3, but Darwish took the next six points to open up a 2-0 lead. Gaultier hung in, and managed to establish a 6-3 lead in the third, but the Egyptian proved too strong as he came back to win the game 9-7, and with it, the title he dreamt of.
Omar El-Borolossi was making dreams come true too, as he beat Finland's Juha Raumolin 15-11, 15-6, 9-15, and 15-6 to win the American Airlines Jamaica Open in Negril, near Montego Bay. Second seed El-Borolossi, world no. 21 and seeded 24 going into the tournament, defeated Canada's 5th seed Shahier Razik in straight games in the semi-finals before facing the Finn in the final.
Third seed Raumolin, 26, from Helsinki, had overcome top seed Amr Shabana -- also an Egyptian star -- in the last four after the Egyptian retired at 2-1 down.
The week was undeniably a high point for Egypt's squash community. Many feel, however, that it shouldn't come as a surprise. In the past decade, Egyptian players have taken title after title, ranking point after ranking point. This week's victories, the fans say, were no exception.
