It is pure joy to watch one of our own go from great to greater. Egypt s Amr Shabana in Bermuda this week won the final of the Endurance World Open Squash Championship to become only the fourth player in history to lift the world title for a third time. After beating France s Gregory Gaultier in straight sets, Shabana, champion also in 2003 and 2005, now finds himself in illustrious company with legends Geoff Hunt, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan as the only men to win at least three World Opens in its 41-year history. Shabana is the only one still actively playing so, who knows, he might one day be the greatest.
We could congratulate Shabana on the title, or for maintaining his No 1 position in the world, or for his 20th PSA Tour crown, or for lifting his fourth successive PSA Super Series trophy in five weeks, or for extending his unbeaten run to 20 matches. But not to be forgotten along with all the pats on the back, the cheers, the applause and the praise is Shabana s court manners. He is a gentleman in victory and defeat. He rarely complains to the referee or his opponent. Shabana doesn t play dirty, he s not confrontational and does not use mind games to beat you. He simply beats you.
Shabana s demeanor is the antithesis of what we see with some of his court companions – compatriots and others. Against Shabana, Gaultier stared and grumbled as he became embroiled in several disputes with the referee about let decisions when he wanted penalty points.
In the same tournament in Bermuda, Hisham Ashour launched into an abusive torrent against his opponent and the referee. Ashour blocked Englishman Adrian Grant s path from the court, eyeballed him from close range, and shook with rage as he did. Ashour then disappeared from the arena only to return, then disappeared again down the tunnel, still shrieking as he did so. (Ashour s tirade was all the more surprising given he won the match. Shudder to think what he would have done had he lost).
From his memoirs, former British squash great Peter Nicol: In the 1996 World Open in Pakistan, Ahmed Barada [Egyptian] was beating me badly.
One thing I did know was that, because of the way he played, he annoyed people, and the other players didn t like him. He was quite a lonely character. So after each point, I d just stop and look at him. I d just stare at him for a bit and see what was going on with him. After the fifth or sixth time I did it, he stopped and said, What? What? What are you looking at? And I knew at that point that I had him.
He did many things that weren t so nice to win matches. One time, playing in Cairo, he scissor-kicked me across the back of the legs and got away with it. It was by looking at him, by showing myself and also seeing what he had to offer, that I beat him.
Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld s squash game is as uncompromising as his political instincts. Rumsfeld refuses to play by the rules, aides claim, often winning points because, after hitting a shot, he does not get out of the way so his opponent has a chance to return the ball, a practice known in squash as “clearing.
The very best sportsmen are forced through physical and mental tests that would give us mortals nightmares. Many sportsmen and women are notorious for taking their sport, preparation and strategy to incredible levels.
But the consequence is to many times try to win by departing from good sportsmanship. If that goes too far, the bad-boy image, like that of the impetuous John McEnroe and Egypt s ill-tempered footballer Hossam Hassan, threatens to overshadow your achievements as a true athlete.
Appreciate the journey, the playing, the training, the winning and the losing. Play like you ll die if you lose and give it your best shot but be nice when shooting.
