El Sherbini Dreaming of World Championship Success by Sean Reuthe photo squashpics.com
April 14, 2016
- In-form Egyptian World No.2 Nour El Sherbini is relishing the
prospect of competing in the upcoming PSA Women’s World Championship
which gets under way in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday April 25 - and
insists she is a different person to the one that lost out in the final
two years ago in the same country.
The Alexandria native
became the youngest ever World Championship finalist in 2014 where a
stunning run in Penang that saw her take out a quartet of seeded
players, including home hero and eight-time World Champion Nicol David,
put her up against current World No.1 Laura Massaro in the showpiece
event.
Despite narrowly going down in five to Massaro, El
Sherbini credits that defeat as something of a watershed moment in her
career, as she soon surged to the upper echelons of the game,
culminating with a historic victory at last month’s Allam British Open
which saw her become the first female Egyptian winner and the second
youngest winner of the prestigious tournament at the age of just 20.
"I feel a lot of things changed [since the World Championship final defeat]," said El Sherbini
"I
was always told that I played well but I didn't manage to close the
match and win so I was frustrated. But now I feel that I went through a
lot of situations in that glass court that changed me as a person in
general and not just as a squash player. Hopefully, I will keep going
the same way."
El Sherbini has established herself as one of
the world’s leading players, with a first World Series title at the
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January preceding her British
Open triumph.
Her sensational season has also catapulted her
into reckoning for top spot in the World Rankings if results go her way
but David, a previous incumbent of the World No.1 position, could stand
in El Sherbini’s way with the duo seeded to face off in a potentially
electrifying quarter-final matchup.
El Sherbini has won the
last four meetings between the pair, with the most recent coming in the
British Open, but is wary of the threat that David, who will be backed
by a partizan home crowd, poses to her dream of becoming the winner of
the most lucrative Women’s World Championship of all time.
"Beating any player even 100 times doesn't count in squash," she said.
"I
will just go in there giving each match 100 per cent concentration and
sticking to my game plan. Nicol is a legend and will always be a legend
so playing her anytime is never easy, no matter the result, and I am
looking forward to a great match if we both make it to play each other.
"Winning
the British Open was certainly a great boost to my career as I was
always dreaming of winning a big title, that’s what any player dreams
of. But the World Championship is something different and I will be
going there as if nothing happened. I will be going there as if nothing
happened and I am starting again from the beginning, match by match.
"Becoming
the World Champion would mean everything to me, it's what I dream of
all the time. I will give it everything, for myself, my parents, my
team, my club and my country, Egypt."
El Sherbini kickstarts
her event against Australia’s Donna Urquhart, with a fixture against
either Dipika Pallikal and Annie Au to follow if she wins.
All
matches will be played at the National Squash Centre between Monday
April 25 - Saturday April 30, Bukit Jalil and admittance to the event
is free of charge. For more information and details, visit here:
http://psawwckualalumpur.com/
