ISM June18-web

PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS
Egyptians Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nour El Sherbini triumphed on a
thrilling final day of action at the ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals to
claim the prestigious season-ending titles inside Emirates Golf Club.
Overcoming compatriots Ali Farag and Raneem El Welily, the
respective men’s and women’s World No.1’s, they etched their
names onto the trophies to bring the curtain down on what
has been one of the most competitive and thrilling seasons
in the history of the Professional Squash Association (PSA)
World Tour - with ElShorbagy successfully defending the
title he won twelve months ago and El Sherbini claiming the
coveted crown for the first time in her career.
In what was the tournament’s third consecutive staging in
Dubai, El Sherbini, the 22-year-old from Alexandria who has
occupied the World No.1 ranking unchallenged for the past 26
months, underlined her dominance over the rest of the field
as she swept El Welily aside in a one-sided 11-3 opening game.
El Welily, who scalped El Sherbini to win the 2017 AJ Bell
PSA World Championship final in December, fought hard to
claim a close second game, but it proved to be in vain as El
Sherbini regained the upper hand to move 2-1 ahead, before
controlling the fourth game to seal an 11-5 9-11 11-8 11-5 win.
“It feels amazing to have won this title,” said El Sherbini. “I
was proud just to be one of the eight players who came here.
It’s been a long season so I’m really proud and happy to end
the season with this title.
“This season has been one of the most successful of my
career but there are still improvements to be made and I can
still become a better player.”
In the men’s final, it was Farag who started the stronger to
take the opening game as he looked to exploit the tired legs
of ElShorbagy.
However, the 27-year-old from Alexandria who has reached
12 finals from 14 events played during this season’s campaign,
It feels amazing to have won this title… this season
has been one of the most successful of my career but
there are still improvements to be made and I can still
become a better player
NOUR EL SHERBINI
INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE June 2018 | 07
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