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LATEST

• Day 9: Farag and El Sherbini Are 2020-21 PSA World Champions
• Day 8: ElShorbagy Reclaims World No: 1 Spot After Reaching World Final
• Day Seven: Coll Mounts Thrilling Comeback to Send Former Winner Gawad Out
• Day Six: Sobhy Becomes First US-Born Player in History to Reach Worlds Semis
• Day Five: ElShorbagy Seals Last Eight Berth at PSA World Championships
• Day Four: Sobhy Reaches PSA World Championship Quarter-Finals
• Day Three: Three US Players Reach Last 16 for the First Time
• Day Two: Kobayashi Becomes First Japanese Man to Reach RD2
• Day One: USA’s Khan Fights Back to Claim RD2 Berth
  
  $500,000 2020-2021 PSA World Championship 2021, Cathedral Hall, University Club of Chicago, Chicago, USA, PSA World Championship

PSA World Championship 2021
Men's Draw
14 - 22 Jul
Chicago, USA, $500k

Ali Farag
7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-4 (67m)
Mohamed Elshorbagy

ROUND ONE 14- 15 JUL

Results - First Round: Men’s 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Faraz Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-7 (17m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (54m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 (48m)
[10] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Aditya Jagtap (IND) 3-1: 11-2, 3-11, 11-4, 11-3 (38m)
[15] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (24m)
George Parker (ENG) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 (38m)
[8] Diego Elias (PER) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (32m)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 11-7 (34m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-9 (32m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5 (33m)
[13] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Vikram Malhotra (IND) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (30m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [16] James Willstrop (ENG) 3-1: 13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (61m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-2: 4-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (77m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Declan James (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (106m)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Asim Khan (PAK) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (32m)

Draw - Men’s First Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played July 15th
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 (28m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 15-13, 12-10 (43m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (24m)
[12] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Aly Hussein (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 (38m)
[14] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Max Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 (22m)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10 (45m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (29m)
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 17-15 (51m)
[7] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-0: 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (43m)
Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3 (80m)
Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 7-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-5 (62m)
[11] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (36m)
[9] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 (42m)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 7-7 retired (45m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Chris Hanson (USA) 11-1, 11-3, 11-8 (24m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (25m)
 

PSA World Championship 2021
Women's Draw
14 - 22 Jul
Chicago, USA, $500k

Nour El Sherbini
11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 (53m)
Nouran Gohar

ROUND ONE

REPORTS

Coll Mounts Thrilling Comeback to Send Former Winner Gawad Out of PSA World Championships

New Zealand’s World No.4 Paul Coll is through to the semi-finals of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family after he mounted a thrilling comeback to overturn a two-game deficit against 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad at the University Club of Chicago earlier today.

Coll, 29, was the runner-up at the 2019-20 PSA World Championships in Doha, Qatar back in November, 2019 and he will now look to become only the second Kiwi male ever to reach two World Championship finals following a 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 victory over World No.6 Gawad in 91 minutes.

Gawad’s shot-making abilities were in full flow in the first two games but he tailed off physically as Coll came back into the encounter, and the New Zealander will now take on World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy for a place in the title decider.

“I actually felt good,” Coll said.

“The first two I was up 7-5 or 7-6 but didn’t convert and then he went up 4-0 in the third and I was thinking ‘what is going on’? But I told myself to trust my game and not to get caught up in trying to change to plan B, to trust my ‘A’ game instead. It was working in the first two games, just not quite at the end [of them].

“He is such a classy player, I love watching him so it is a pleasure to play him, he is one of the best ball strikers on tour, so it is so difficult. I will do some recovery tonight, I train this hard back at home to prepare for these sort of matches so I can back up the next day. I’ll jump in the ice bath, smash a lot of food and I’ll be fine.”

ElShorbagy is now just one win away from overthrowing Ali Farag as the men’s World No.1 following an 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 victory over World No.7 Fares Dessouky. ElShorbagy will take the No.1 spot in the August rankings if he reaches the final, while a defeat to Coll in the semi-finals would leave Farag needing to win the event to hold onto the coveted ranking.

The form book is certainly in ElShorbagy’s favour with eight wins to Coll’s one, however Coll did claim his sole win over the Bristol-based Egyptian at the University Club of Chicago during the 2020 Windy City Open.

“I came here for two jobs, to get World No.1 back and to win the World Championship,” said ElShorbagy.

“There is one more match for the first job and two more matches for the second job. I’m really looking forward to that. To all of my opponents, ‘The Beast’ is back, and I’m not going anywhere.”

In the women’s event, Nouran Gohar continued her charge to the World Championship trophy and the World No.1 spot as she dispatched New Zealand’s World No.8 Joelle King by an 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 scoreline.

Gohar will take the World No.1 spot from El Sherbini if she matches or beats her compatriot’s results at this tournament, meaning there is still the tantalising prospect of the pair facing off for the ranking and the World Championship crown in the final on Thursday.

“Sometimes I wasn’t finding my length, but I was really happy to adapt again in the fourth game. I really enjoyed the match, it was fun to play,” said Gohar.

“I think I have played Camille [Serme] in one or two World Championships quarter-finals, and I always enjoy playing against her. It is really tough and we have great battles, so I am really looking forward to it tomorrow.”

French World No.4 Camille Serme has reached a fifth World Championship semi-final after she put in a composed performance to beat Egypt’s World No.9 Salma Hany.

“I was trying use the experience more than the pressure today,” Serme said.

“As you could see, she is very talented and she can hit very nice drop shots from the back. When you give her an angle she just hits the nick, so I knew there would be some. Most of the time, I was trying to play wide and tight to the wall so I could be in front of her and play my shots.”

The semi-finals of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family take place tomorrow (July 21) and play starts at 17:00 (GMT-5). Action from the glass court inside Cathedral Hall will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan) while the side court matches will be shown live on Facebook and the PSA SQUASHTV YouTube channel.

For more information on the 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family, visit the tournament website or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
 

Kobayashi Becomes First Japanese Man to Reach RD2 of PSA World Championships

Yokohama-born Ryosei Kobayashi has become the first Japanese man to reach the second round of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family after he ousted India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar in five games at the University Club of Chicago.

World No.70 Kobayashi’s first round appearance at the 2019-20 PSA World Championships saw him become the first male Japanese player since 1982 to compete at squash’s most prestigious tournament, and the 27-year-old went one better this time around with a 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3 victory against World No.48 Mahesh Mangaonkar.

“I’m the only one that is actively playing on the PSA and I’m eager to improve,” said Kobayashi afterwards.

“I had to get outside of my country and I’m training in Aix-en-Provence and learning a third language as well. You need to be determined as a Japanese player, and I hope that a lot of juniors coming up will do the same thing, have the fighting spirit I have, or even more, and make ourselves proud.

“I’m really happy and really proud to make that record for the squash fans in Japan, for myself, my family and everyone that is supporting family. It’s something that will stay forever in Japan, especially because squash in Japan is so small.”

Kobayashi will take on World No.7 Fares Dessouky in the next round after he came back from a game down to defeat Scotland’s Greg Lobban, while 2017 World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy ramped up his attempts to take the World No.1 ranking with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong’s Tsz Fung Yip.

If ElShorbagy makes it to the final he will be guaranteed the World No.1 spot regardless of what current incumbent Ali Farag does, and the 30-year-old’s strong start against Yip could spell danger for Farag’s reign as the world’s top player.

“I know that if he doesn’t reach the final I’m going to become World No.1, but if I reach the final I’ll be World No.1 anyway,” ElShorbagy said.

“It’s all in my hands, I’m in control, I want him to keep winning, and I want to keep winning. I want to kick him out of the World No.1 spot, that’s all I’m thinking of. I’ve been counting down the days until that moment, and that moment is very, very soon now.”

2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad also got his title challenge under way with an entertaining 3-0 win over Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais, while 2019-20 World Championship runner-up Paul Coll axed Pakistan’s Tayyab Aslam in straight games.

The in-form World No.2 Nouran Gohar began her event in the women’s draw with an 11-6, 11-1, 11-5 victory against England’s Lucy Beecroft.

Like ElShorbagy, Gohar is bearing down on the World No.1 spot - currently held by fellow Egyptian Nour El Sherbini - and will be guaranteed top spot in the August rankings if El Sherbini fails to reach the semi-finals.

“Who doesn't want to win this one?” Gohar said.

“For me, it is about taking it match by match, I am really enjoying it right now and that is the main thing. My aim is the semis so hopefully I can do better.”

No.3 seed Camille Serme also began her tournament, beating Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi 11-7, 11-1, 11-4 in 23 minutes to set up a round two fixture with Australia’s Donna Lobban.

“I was quite happy with my accuracy today and I will try to move better and better each day, and also be more aware of where my opponent is because she caught me a few times today,” Serme said.

“This year is different because although it is the World Championships, we can’t have our staff with us [due to COVID-19 protocols]. These are special conditions, so I will try to take it as it comes.”

USA duo Sabrina Sobhy and Olivia Clyne also secured victories with respective wins over Wales’ Ali Loke and Switzerland’s Cindy Merlo.

Round two of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family takes place tomorrow (July 16) and play starts at 11:30 (GMT-5). Action from the glass court inside Cathedral Hall will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan) while the side court matches will be shown live on Facebook and the PSA SQUASHTV YouTube channel.

For more information on the 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family, visit the tournament website or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.