El Sherbini World hat-trick makes squash history

Wroclaw – Poland, July 22, 2013: Egyptian teenager Nour El Sherbini has become the world’s most successful junior squash player of all-time after winning the WSF Women’s World Junior Championship title for a record third time.

Victory over compatriot Mariam Ibrahim Metwally in the final of the World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland sees the 17-year-old from Alexandria extend the previous women’s double record set by the reigning world number one Nicol David in 2001, and the twin-title men’s record established by Ramy Ashour – also the current world number one – in 2006.

There was an upset in the men’s final – also an all-Egyptian affair – when No2 seed Karim Ayman Elhammamy (pictured above with El Sherbini) beat favourite Fares Mohamed Dessouki in four games to keep the trophy in Egyptian hands for the eighth year in a row.

El Sherbini is no stranger to record-breaking achievements in the sport: In August 2009 in India – in her maiden appearance in the World U19 championship – the unheralded 13-year-old swept through the field to become the youngest world champion ever.

Two years later she won the Alexandria International Open in her home city to become the first U16-year-old to win two WSA World Tour titles.

And, after winning her second World Junior crown a year ago in Qatar, El Sherbini became the first player to reach a fourth world junior final on Saturday after success in the semi-finals in Wroclaw.

The championship favourite reached the final without losing a game – and faced surprise opponent Metwally, a 5/8 seed to whom she had dropped a game in the 2012 quarter-finals.

Metwally, a year younger than Sherbini, had reached her maiden final after upsets over No2 seed Nouran Ahmed Gohar and last year’s runner-up Yathreb Adel, a 3/4 seed.

But El Sherbini, ranked 11 in the world, could not be stopped: It took just 34 minutes for the 17-year-old to fulfil her dream, beating Metwally 11-7, 16-14, 11-8 to take the title.

The men’s final brought together the event’s top two seeds – with top-seeded Dessouki not only boasting a world ranking more than 200 places above his opponent, but a victory over Elhammamy in January’s British Junior U19 Open en-route to winning the prestigious title.

But, in a fittingly dramatic climax to the world individual championships in Wroclaw, underdog Elhammamy clinched the title 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 13-11 after 83 minutes.

“I’ve seen a lot of squash: PSA, senior team event, everything. But this – this was just something else,” said the Poland Team coach Marcin Kozik afterwards. “These boys flew around the court. What they did there tonight was crazy and I absolutely loved it!”

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Squash Championships, Wroclaw, Poland

Men’s final:

[2] Karim Ayman Elhammamy (EGY) bt [1] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 13-11 (83m)

Women’s final:

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [5/8] Mariam Ibrahim Metwally (EGY) 11-7, 16-14, 11-8 (34m)

Egypt Seeded To Set World Junior Team Championship Record

Egypt have been named as top seeds for the 2013 WSF Women’s World Junior Team Squash Championship and are firm favourites to become the first nation in the event’s 28-year history to win the title four times in a row.

The biennial World Squash Federation championship gets underway tomorrow (22 July) at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland following Sunday’s world individual finals.

Egypt, boasting all four players in Saturday’s Women’s World Junior Championship semi-finals, will be led by Nour El Sherbini, the 17-year-old world No11 from Alexandria who is bidding to become the first player in history to win a world junior individual title for a third time.

The defending champions are expected to line up against USA, the second seeds, in Saturday’s final. USA, who finished as runners-up in 2011 in their first ever appearance in the final, will be led by Sabrina Sobhy, the 16-year-old sister of 2010 world junior champion Amanda Sobhy.

Five-time champions England are the third seeds, ahead of fourth seeds Hong Kong China, the 2005 champions.

Full Pool line-ups:

Pool A: [1] EGYPT, [8] NEW ZEALAND, [9] AUSTRALIA, [13/16] POLAND

Pool B: [2] USA, [7] CANADA, [10] FRANCE, [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC

Pool C: [3] ENGLAND, [6] INDIA, [11] JAPAN, [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA

Pool D: [4] HONG KONG CHINA, [5] MALAYSIA, [12] COLOMBIA, [13/16] GERMANY