Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, chairperson and managing director of Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB), has honoured the winners of PSA Women’s World Championship and Egyptian Squash Open 2019, which was held from 24 October to 1 November in front of the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza.
The two tournaments witnessed the dominance of Egyptian players, harvesting the first places in both championships, as World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad won the CIB Egyptian Squash Open, and the reigning champion Nour El Sherbini won the PSA Women’s World Championship.
Both tournaments were organised by IEvents under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Egyptian Tourism Authority.
For the first time in the history of the game, the total women’s tournament awards reached $430,000, higher than its counterpart for men, which totalled $185,000.
Ezz Al-Arab praised the outstanding organisation of the championships, in which 112 players participated from 20 countries, including 64 women and 48 men.
He emphasised the interest of CIB Egypt in developing the Egyptian society and supporting the sports role in promoting tourism in Egypt, which also shows that the country is capable of organising and hosting international events.
He added that increasing the value of the prize for the women’s tournament proves the bank’s support of women and equality.
Hussein Abaza, CEO of CIB, said the bank’s sponsorship of squash is not just about holding world championships, but it has been supporting the Egyptian Squash Association for eight consecutive years also.
Amr Mansi, tournament director and CEO of IEVENTS, expressed his pride after the successful organisation of the event and the large turnout it has witnessed.