Egypt's Ramy Ashour has been honoured as PSA Player of the
Year for the second year in a row at the annual World Squash
Awards.
The
presentation took place at the PSA World Series JP Morgan Tournament
of Champions at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
In a
further nomination by the PSA Board, fellow Egyptian Marwan El
Shorbagy received the PSA Young Player of Year award.
Ashour
has become one of the biggest draws on the PSA World Tour over
the past few years. Twice a winner of the PSA Young Player of the
Year award, the two-time world junior champion rapidly made his mark
on the senior tour, becoming world number one for the first time in
January 2010, aged 23.
After
an injury-affected 2011, the gifted 25-year-old from Cairo enjoyed the
best year of his professional career in 2012, becoming the first player
for almost two decades to reach the final of all events he played in -
winning five titles and capping the year by clinching the PSA World
Championship crown for the second time and regaining the world
number one ranking this month.
After
following in the footsteps of Mohamed El Shorbagy by winning a
second World Junior Championship title last year, teenager Marwan El
Shorbagy is now emulating his older brother by becoming 'Young
Player of the Year' - an award won by Mohamed in both 2009 and 2010.
"It's
an honour to be awarded the '2012 PSA Young Player of the Year',"
tweeted El Shorbagy later. "Thanks to everyone who has supported me
through all this year."
The
19-year-old from Alexandria, the youngest player in the world top 50,
began 2012 in stunning style - becoming the first qualifier for ten
years to reach the quarter-finals of the PSA World Series Tournament of
Champions in New York. Continuing success took the UK-based teenager to
a career-high world No26 in September, a month before making the
semi-finals of the Dayton Open in the USA unseeded.
"This
year's Player of the Year award was probably the closest it has ever
been, with many candidates all having their claim - but we felt the run
of event wins which culminated in being crowned World Champion and
getting back to World No1 was enough to secure Ramy's second award,"
said PSA COO Lee Beachill.
"Obviously James Willstrop was another notable contender having
spent all of 2012 at number one; Omar Mosaad has had a fantastic
year and reached the top 10 for the first time; Borja Golan has
fought back from a career-threatening injury to make the top 10 again;
and Mohamed El Shorbagy had an incredible World Championship,
reaching the final and finishing the year at number five," added
Beachill.
"The
Young Player of the Year was a slightly easier decision due to the
remarkable breakthrough of Marwan El Shorbagy. As well as having
several notable results against highly-ranked opposition, Marwan also
won the World Junior Championship and has positioned himself perfectly
for a big 2013.
"All
these achievements signify the immense depth of talent we currently have
on the PSA World Tour and we all look forward to highly competitive 2013
season," Beachill concluded.
Founded in 2005 by Eventis Sports Marketing, the World Squash
Awards are endorsed annually by the World Squash Federation (WSF),
the Professional Squash Association (PSA) and the Women's
Squash Association (WSA).
