Hesham & Tomlinson Win World University
Titles
While Egyptian favourite Mazen
Hesham won the men's title in the 8th World University Squash
Championships in India as predicted, there was a major upset
earlier today when Great Britain's Millie Tomlinson, a 5/8
seed, toppled top seed Olga Ertlova in the other final to
take the women's title at the Indian Squash Academy in
Chennai against expectations.
Hesham, a 20-year-old from Cairo who is
already ranked 34 in the world, dropped just one game en-route to
the men's final - where he faced No2 seed Zahed Mohamed in
the event's third all-Egyptian final since 2002.
The top seed needed just 35 minutes to
overcome Mohamed, 22, from Alexandria, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6.
"Zahed was a tough opponent to beat,"
said Hesham afterwards. "This was my first world event win. I'm very
happy. It's a very good first title win for me. I'm going to USA to
take part in the Professional Squash Association (PSA)."
Hesham becomes the third Egyptian men's
champion, following in the footsteps of illustrious former champions
Karim Darwish (2002) and Ramy Ashour (2008) - both of
whom went on to top the PSA World Rankings.
Tomlinson, a 22-year-old from Duffield
in the English county of Derbyshire, enjoyed a distinguished career
as a junior, winning the British Junior U13, U15 and U19 titles
before moving to the USA to study at Yale University.
Her route to the title could hardly
have been more demanding: A quarter-final victory over South
Africa's 3/4 seed Cheyna Tucker took Tomlinson into the
semis, where she overcame second-seeded Egyptian Farah Abdel
Megid 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 in 55 minutes.
In her first meeting with Ertlova, the
world No59 from the Czech Republic, Tomlinson despatched the
28-year-old 11-8, 11-6, 11-1 in 38 minutes to clinch the title.
"It was a very tough match," admitted
Britain's latest world squash champion. "It's one of my biggest
victories - winning this has given me lot of confidence. I'm
thinking of going for the Women Squash Association (WSA)."
Tomlinson becomes the first British
women's champion since England's Jenny Tranfield in 1998.
RESULTS: World University Squash
Championships, Chennai, India
Men's
quarter-finals:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [5/8] Sanjay Singh (MAS)
8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 (38m)
[3/4] Eddie Charlton (GBR) bt [5/8] Addeen Idrakie
(MAS) 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-5 (68m)
[3/4] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf (PAK) bt Andrew Martin (RSA)
11-8, 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-3 (54m)
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [5/8] Joel Makin (GBR)
12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (45m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [3/4] Eddie Charlton (GBR)
13-11, 11-7, 11-9 (40m)
[2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [3/4] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf
(PAK) 11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7 (36m)
Final:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (35m)
Third place play-off:
[3/4] Eddie Charlton (GBR) bt [3/4] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf
(PAK) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (48m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Olga Ertlova (CZE) bt [5/8] Chloe Mesic (FRA)
8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6 (44m)
[5/8] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) bt [3/4] Zulhijjah Binti Azan
(MAS) 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11 (40m)
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (GBR) bt [3/4] Cheyna Tucker (RSA)
11-2, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4 (35m)
[2] Farah Abdel Megid (EGY) bt Aparajitha Balamurukan
(IND) 11-3, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4 (28m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Olga Ertlova (CZE) bt [5/8] Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
11-7, 11-3, 11-5 (29m)
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (GBR) bt [2] Farah Abdel Megid
(EGY) 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 (55m)
Final:
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (GBR) bt [1] Olga Ertlova (CZE)
11-8, 11-6, 11-1 (38m)
Third place play-off:
[2] Farah Abdel Megid (EGY) bt [5/8] Alexandra Fuller
(RSA) 16-14, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7 (43m)
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