Pro Squash Tour (PST) Signs Wael El Hindi
from DailySquashReport.com
December 1, 2011 - The Pro Squash Tour (PST) has signed its second significant world figure in a month, with the announcement today that former world #8 Wael El Hindi of Egypt has joined four-time British Open champion David Palmer on the three-year-old US-based tour.
The 31-year-old El Hindi, from Giza, currently lives and trains in New York City.
He arrived on the world scene in 1998 when he reached the finals of the World Juniors as a 5/8 seed.
In the 2006 World Open, El Hindi, unseeded, burst into the last eight after beating both compatriot Karim Darwish and current world champion Nick Matthew.
In 2007, he again beat Darwish and scored upsets over Anthony Ricketts and Lee Beachill.
In 2008, while working with British legend Jonah Barrington, El Hindi recorded a sixth-place finish at the Super Series Finals in London and reached a career-high ranking of #8 at the year’s end.
He captured the $30,000 Berkshire Open last April and is currently ranked #27 by the PSA.
Georgetta Morque files this report:
Framingham, MA (December 1, 2011) - Pro Squash Tour (PST) announced today the signing of Egyptian squash player Wael El Hindi, the most charismatic and colorful character on the world stage.
Earlier this year, El Hindi was invited to compete in the PSA World Series Finals, the Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) flagship event which features their top eight players from the season standings. In 2010, he won the U.S. Open, which U.S. Squash calls “the most prestigious squash title in the U.S.” El Hindi was a member of the 2009 Egyptian National Team which won the World Team Championship. In 2008, El Hindi won the Petrosport International Championship in Cairo, which was Egypt’s largest event that year.
El Hindi, now based in New York City, moved to the U.S. in early 2010 and immediately began playing on the PST. He had several strong finishes and won the Baltimore Open and Cleveland Classic. In response to PST’s rapid growth and with concern for its own future, the U.K.–based Professional Squash Association (PSA) banned its nearly 500 members from competing in PST tournaments. The October 2010 ban launched an international chase for talent.
“PST has called me every few weeks for the past year and asked me to come back,” said El Hindi. “I am here in America now. I would prefer to be able to compete on both tours, but that is not possible. Today, I choose PST. I am committed to growing this tour and the game of squash.”
“Wael’s addition to our tour is important on many levels,” said PST Commissioner Joe McManus. First, we are adding a world class talent to Pro Squash Tour. Second, it shows that players who have previously played with PST and were PSA members are voting with their feet and choosing PST.
“Finally, Wael is a walking highlight reel. When he is on court, you don’t want to blink. Our fans are going to love Wael’s return to PST action.”
Last month, PST announced the signing of two-time PSA World Open Champion David Palmer. Earlier signings included Irish National Champion John Rooney, Greek National Champion Fabian Kalaitzis, Swedish National Champion Gustav Detter, long-time El Salvadoran National Champion Ricky Weisskopf, Colombian National Team Member Andres Vargas and reigning PST World Champion Bradley Ball of England.
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