6 - 12 September 2001
Issue No.550
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 September 2001 Issue No.550 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
End of the line
Saying he's not the player he once was and would probably never be, squash champion Ahmed Barada has retired from the professional circuit for good. The shock announcement suddenly cut short a brilliant career that had seen the 24-year-old soar to no. 3 in the world.
Ahmed Barada
Barada sustained serious injuries after being stabbed in the back early last year by an unknown assailant. He was left with two massive scars that showed how close to his spine the knife penetrated. Rehabilitation in Switzerland and Egypt were reported to have succeeded but the injuries were apparently far more serious than the public was initially led to believe.
Barada has struggled to regain fitness in recent months and withdrew from the Halifax-Equitable Super Series finals in London, then pulled out during the first game of his comeback match against Alex Gough in the Scottish Open in Perth.
He returned to the circuit in the 2000 Super series but it was clear his heart was no longer in the game. He claimed to be suffering from a loss of confidence as a result of the stabbing, which took place as he was parking his car outside his home after attending a party. More recently he was reported to be close to getting engaged and in the middle of pursuing a career in movies.
Barada favoured a hard-hitting, attacking style and beat world class players Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power on his way to winning the 1999 Heliopolis Open in Cairo. Before the attack experts agreed he had a decent shot at becoming no. 1 in the world although he was rarely as successful outside Egypt as he was when competing on home turf.
"I'm really sad to have to stop playing but I really can't provide Egyptian fans with good squash any more," Barada told the press conference. "After the attack, I couldn't return to normal. I don't want them to see me playing badly. So let them remember me in my best form. It's not easy for me but I have to."
Barada's sudden decision came a week before the 2001 Al-Ahram tournament where the Egyptian had always been feted by loud, partisan crowds. Last year he lost 3-1 in the final to Nicol.
In another Egyptian tournament, the women's Heliopolis Open, world junior champion Nicol David and four-time world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald are expected to vie for the title.
Malaysia's David, a double world junior champion who turned 18 recently, closed the generation gap when the tournament began last week with a sensational 4-9, 9-4, 9-5, 9-5 victory in 39 minutes over second seed Fiona Geaves. After taking the first game the experienced Geaves simply had no answer to David's pace and fitness, as the Malaysian scored her first victory over a top 10 player to announce her arrival on the senior scene in a big way.
David then completed another victory over a tour veteran in the quarter-finals, beating Australia's Liz Irving 4-9, 10-8, 9-2, 9-5 in 35 minutes. The experienced Irving took the first game and held an 8-5 lead in the second, controlling the pace from the front of the court. David refused to buckle though, and chased down everything that Irving could throw at her as she recovered to level the match. The young Malaysian's retrieving took its toll as Irving tired during the next game, and David clinched the match and another scalp in the fourth.
Another star, though shining less bright, is Fitz- Gerald, still stuck at no. 3. In her quarter-final, top seeded Fitz-Gerald completed a comfortable victory over Vanessa Atkinson, although the 9-0, 9-3, 9-1 scoreline did not do justice to the Dutch no. 1 who put Fitz-Gerald under pressure but was unable to convert that into points.
Fitz-Gerald and David were due to face British opposition in the semi-finals -- Cassie Campion and Rebecca Macree who took on the Grinham sisters and emerged victorious, with Campion beating Rachael 9- 4, 9-3, 9-3 and Macree fighting back to beat Natalie 3- 9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-3.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page