16 - 22 May 2002
Issue No.586
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 May 2002 Issue No.586 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Squash is the last stop
In her first international championship, Lina El-Tannir came out first after winning the under-15 German Junior Squash Open.
The promising 13-year-old swept Czech Tereza Dufkova 3-0 (9-5, 9-0, 9-2) to win the final and her first international title in her first appearance. El-Tannir had to win six matches en route to the final, ousting champions from Germany, France and Holland, in addition to Dufkova.
What makes El-Tannir's victory all the more amazing is that she took up squash only two years ago. She was late in coming to the sport because, as mother Dina says, El-Tannir was fascinated with all kinds of sports -- and good at whatever she played. At the beginning, she was into gymnastics and won second place in the national championships. Then she decided to take the plunge in swimming in an attempt to emulate her local hero, swimming great Rania Elwani. She excelled in the butterfly and won the bronze medal at the national swimming championships three years ago.
Despite success in the water, her mother stepped in. "I persuaded Lina to leave swimming and take up squash," Dina said. "She had become so involved in swimming that her muscles had started to bulge and she had begun to develop broad shoulders," something which Dina felt was not appropriate for her little girl. "And there would never have been any great results at the international level," Dina added.
Another turn-off for Dina was the training, the schedule of which was arduous. "We had to start practice at four or five in the morning, then go to school and sometimes continue in the afternoon until 11pm or 12pm. It was hectic."
Dina was also impressed by how far squash had come in Egypt and how well the game and especially young players, were being monitored by the federation. "She was hooked," Dina said. She started training with Talha Hussein of Gezira Club who was the coach of world junior champion Karim Darwish. She finished third in the nationals.
"I'm so happy I don't think I'll change to another sport," El- Tannir said. "I'll concentrate more on squash."
Egypt's world junior champion Omnia Abdel-Qawi is El- Tannir's mentor, "I would like to become the world champion one day," El-Tannir said. That day might not be too far off.
© 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