The Egyptians—Mohamed El-Shorbagy, Karim Abdel Gawad and Ramy Ashour—qualified for the semi-finals in the 2016 Allam British Open Squash Championship, currently underway in Hull, England.
This marks a record, as it is the first time for three Egyptian athletes to make it to the semi-finals of the Allam British Open’s in 50 years. The last time three Egyptian athletes got this far was in 1966, when Abdel Fatah Abo Taleb, Kamal Zaghloul, and Tawfik Shafik qualified. Abo Taleb took home the championship that year.
In the 2016 championship, Mohamed El-Shorbagy qualified for the quarterfinals after defeating Colombia’s Miguel Ángel Rodríguez with scores of 11-8, 11-8 and 11-9, and a final score of 3-0.
In the semi-finals, Mohamed El-Shorbagy will play against his compatriot, Karim Abdel Gawad, who reached the semi-finals after defeating Mohamed El-Shorbagy’s brother, Marwan El-Shorbagy, with scores of 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10, and a final score of 3-1.
The other semi-finalist Ramy Ashour will play against France’s Grégory Gaultier, who made it to the semi-finals after defeating German Simon Rösner with scores of 11-6, 11-6, 11-8, and a final score of 3-0.
Meanwhile, Ashour qualified to the semi-finals after defeating his compatriot Ali Farag with scores of 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 and a final score of 3-1.