(Photo courtesy of the Professional Squash Association)
Egyptian squash player Ali Farag, ranked 73rd on the world rankings, has taken the GillenMarkets Irish Open 2015 title, one of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour events in Dublin, on 25 April.
The 23-year-old won the title after beating France’s Lucas Serme, world 45th, who made it to the final after beating New Zealand’s Paul Coll. On his way to the finalis, Farag had to face two Egyptian players, Mazen Hashem in the semi-final and Karim Ali Fathy in the quarter-final.
Commenting on his victory, Farag told Daily News Egypt that he considers the GillenMarkets Irish Open as one of the best tournaments he has ever been to in terms of the organisation. “We were very well taken care of the entire week and the Irish people are a very knowledgeable crowd that appreciate the game of squash and its players,” Farag went on.
Farag also expressed his appreciation to the Egyptian Ambassador in Ireland who came to watch the final and invited them to dinner, “which was the highlight of the tournament”.
This title is Farag’s 7th PSA title, which was also preceded by another title in Ireland on 20 April, when Farag defeated Englishman James Earles in the final of the Garavan’s Bar Paddy Whack Walsh West of Ireland Open.
“I just want to say that Egypt really is the hub of Squash champions around the world, so we hope to get the media coverage that we deserve and get every Egyptian to support us. I would also like thank everyone who has helped me win those titles; family, fiancée, my Harvard Squash coach, Heliopolis Sporting Club and Minister of Sports Khaled Abdel Aziz, whom without I would not have been able to go to both of these tournaments,” Farag said.
Stating his future tournaments, Farag said that he will play in a PSA international 25K tournament in Sharm El-Sheikh that the Egyptian Squash Federation is organising. It starts on the 17 May.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad earned his second PSA title of the year on 25 April by winning the final of the Andora Open, to mark his 10th PSA title.
