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El Hindi Triumphs In Cairo Petrosport Final

The inaugural Petrosport International Championship in Cairo - featuring two of the Egyptian capital's finest international squash stars - came to a magnificent climax at the Sky Club when fifth seed Wael El Hindi emerged triumphant after four games in the final against fourth seed Karim Darwish to win the $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum event title, and the first Super Series trophy of his career.

Despite the fact that 12 Egyptians lined up in the first round of this 32-man event - the fifth PSA Super Series event of the year - only one was predicted to reach the final. But, following the shock exit of second-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the first round, and the disappointing early retirement of Egyptian favourite Amr Shabana, the world number one, in the semi-finals, it was a dream 'hometown' climax that was presented to the packed final crowd.

El Hindi, the 28-year-old who slipped from 9 to 12 in the world rankings this month, took a two-game lead - then overcame a third-game fight back by Darwish, the world No8, to record a dramatic 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 victory after 67 minutes.

"Such a relief, a big relief," were the new champion's first words afterwards. "In the first two games I was playing rather well, and especially moving so well, and I could smell the pressure on him. And every time I was looking at him, I knew I was getting stronger and stronger, and that I was doing the right thing.

"But again - as I did so many times in my career, when I found myself at 2/0 up - I starting thinking that I was maybe going to win the match, and lost my way," explained El Hindi, now with six PSA Tour titles to his name.

"I had so many conversations with Jonah (Barrington) about that problem. And he told me just relax, take it point by point, don’t get excited. And at 8/8 in the fourth, that’s exactly what I did, I said to myself, let’s take one point at a time, and it worked, and I ended up with the biggest win of my career."

Like El Hindi, Darwish was also celebrating his maiden appearance in a Super Series final. But the 26-year-old could not hide his disappointment at the outcome: "I’m so disappointed. I played well all week, but tonight, I just couldn’t play my game.

"There was so much pressure on me tonight, he was more relaxed than I was, and he deserved to win."

Richard Graham, the recently-installed Chief Executive of the PSA, was also witnessing his first major Tour event in Egypt, one of the leading countries for the sport: "This was a stunning final, and I would like to congratulate Wael and Karim for the great show they gave us tonight.

"I hope this is an event where will be coming to for many years to come."

The Petrosport triumph also marked a sensational week for British squash legend Jonah Barrington. The former record six-time British Open champion not only coaches El Hindi, but also fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy, the 17-year-old who four days earlier became the World Junior champion in Switzerland!

Darwish & El Hindi In Cairo Final After Abbreviated Semis

The crowd watching the climax of the Petrosport International Championship in Cairo will be treated to an all-Egyptian final - but the crowd witnessing the semi-finals of the $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum squash event at the city's Sky Club were given two truncated matches after both ended prematurely following retirements.

But Wael El Hindi, the fifth seed from Cairo, and Karim Darwish, the No4 seed who is also from the host city, will both be celebrating their maiden appearances in a Super Series event final after their semi-final successes.

El Hindi, the world No12, ended world number one Amr Shabana's chance of winning the 14th Super Series title of his career when the top seed stopped the match within a point of the end of the second game.

"I was already injured before the tournament - I had an injury in my wrist - but yesterday when I was playing Peter (Barker), I got a blister on my big toe, so that's why I didn't complete the match," Shabana explained afterwards.

El Hindi, now in the 11th Tour final of his career, was full of sympathy for his friend after the 11-9, 10-3 (ret.) win: "I saw that he just couldn’t move when I played a disguised shot, and I knew then he was in trouble. I know he is already injured with his wrist, but that was different.

"Shabana is a friend of mine; I hope that this is not serious, and that he recovers very soon. He is such a player, and I do respect him, and so should the crowd, because what he’s achieved, nobody else could have achieved but him. We should be all so proud of him."

World No8 Darwish swept to victory in just 14 minutes, beating Malaysia's eighth seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar 11-3, 11-2 (ret.).

"I injured my groin a week before Malaysia," said a disconsolate Iskandar later. "I had a lot of physio treatment and ultrasound, and that made it better for a while. I’ve been on anti-inflammatories for two weeks now!

"Tonight, I thought that I was going to be fine, and the idea was to get on court, and test it, see how it was going, and see if I could play or not. But when I heard that Shabana had retired, I knew I HAD to give something to the crowd, and decided to play.

"But I just couldn’t do anything, I just couldn’t move."

Darwish, celebrating his 20th Tour final and 5/4 ahead on head-to-head clashes with his compatriot since 2000, has his eyes focussed on the match: "I’m looking forward to playing him in the final; this is a tournament I really want to win."

Iskandar Denies All-Egyptian Cairo Semis

In the final match of the day, Mohd Azlan Iskandar denied the hosts an all-Egyptian semi-final line-up in the Petrosport International Championship - but the eighth seed from Malaysia was taken the full distance by Egyptian qualifier Tarek Momen before winning his quarter-final in the new $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum squash event at the Sky Club in Cairo.

The 26-year-old from Kuala Lumpur took the first two games before 20-year-old Momen - who had claimed the scalps of world No2 Gregory Gaultier and 14th seed Borja Golan to reach this stage - fought back to draw level.

But Iskandar reclaimed the advantage to record an 11-4, 11-8, 5-11, 4-11, 11-8 victory after 60 minutes.

"I'm not at my best physically at the moment, struggling a bit with my legs," said Iskandar to www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards. "And I was 2/0 up, I just switched off a bit in the third, and he ran away with the third, and the fourth - he is such a tough little nut!

"But I stayed calm, I didn’t lose my focus. All credit to him, I just don’t know how he kept running, and running."

The Malaysian now takes on Karim Darwish, the fourth seed from Egypt, while the other semi-final is an all-Egyptian clash between favourite Amr Shabana and Wael El Hindi, the fifth seed.

El Hindi had been stretched for 91 minutes by No9 seed Adrian Grant before beating the English left-hander 16-14, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2.

"Adrian put up a good fight, and it could have gone either way, so I’m glad to get to the quarters, and to get to play Shaabz again here, like we did in Cairo for the Worlds in 2006, and on the same court," said El Hindi, the 28-year-old world No12.

Favourite Amr Shabana beat fellow left-hander Peter Barker, the sixth seed from England, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 in 63 minutes.

"I hate playing lefties," said the world number one after his win. "Peter has improved tremendously, his movement is so good now, and I really had to be at my best to beat him.

"What makes him so dangerous at the front is that he moves so well, gets to the ball very fast, and as he plays his shots by the book, right foot first, his body angle hides the ball, and you constantly have to watch over his shoulder to see where the ball is going.

"They are so many good players these days - you’ve got to keep on your toes!"

Momen & Mehboob Make Cairo Quarters