CAIRO - Egyptian squash stars have achieved another success, after capturing the World U-19 Championship for Individuals that ended recently in Belgium.
Egypt's Marwan el-Shorbagy defeated his compatriot Mohamed Abul Ghar 3-0 in the final (11-6, 11-6, 11-8). Marwan, from Alexandria, grabbed the world junior title for the first time in his life, something he’d only dreamed of before.
"I’m very happy, because I have achieved something I’d dreamed of since I was ten years old," Marwan, 17, told the Egyptian Mail.
"I watched my elder brother Mohamed win the world title in 2008 and I really wanted to win it too.”
Mohamed el-Shorbagy, born in 1991, is a professional squash player who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 9 in January 2011. He grabbed World Squash Championship in 2008 in Switzerland and in India in 2009.
Marwan explained that the final game was very difficult. "This is because Mohamed Abul Ghar and I are close friends and know each other really well, as we’ve played together for the past ten years.
"I still have one year in the youth category and the 2012 World Championship will be held on home soil in Egypt, so I really hope to win the title again," Marwan, who is studying in England, pointed out.
Egypt dominated the World Youth Championships yet again, as Egypt's Ramy Ashour won the title in 2004 and in 2006, Mohamed el-Shorbagy won the title in 2008 and in 2009, and Amr Khaled in 2010.
"Last year was the starting point for me, when I participated in the World Junior U-17 Championships in England and I grabbed the title," Marwan, who started playing squash at the age of seven, said.
He added that this year the competition was fierce. "There were 64 players in the tournament, yet, despite the competition, the four players who made it to the semi-finals were all Egyptians.”
The teenager defeated his compatriot Mazen Hesham 3-0 in the semi-final before beating his friend Mohamed Abul Ghar by the same scoreline in the final.
"If I win the 2012 title in Egypt, it will be the first time in the world that two brothers have each grabbed the World Youth Championship twice," he added enthusiastically.
