| Egyptian squash player Karim Abd El Gawad brings home the silver medal |
| By Rana Kamaly |
| Among the 16 players from around the world in the Savcor Finnish Squash Open there were six Egyptian players in the men's championship; in the quarterfinal there were four Egyptians out of eight players; in the semi finals two out of four and in yesterday’s final match one Egyptian champion was still holding his ground.Finalist Karim Abd El Gawad, 20, fought a good game against Finnish Olli Tuominen, 33, who is ranked 23rd in the men’s international ranking. Abd El Gawad lost the final match three games to one, and with that win, Tuominen won his fourth Finnish Open championship held in Mekili from February 10 to 13. The Alexandrian Abd El Gawad’s highest international ranking was 38 in August 2011, and he was among the youngest players in the tournament. The Egyptians who participated in the tournament were Amr Khaled Khalifa, Andrew Wagih Shoukry, Karim Abdel Gawad, Mohamed Abouelghar, Amr Ramsy Swelim, Omar Abdel Meguid. Abdel Megid and Abdel Gawad faced each other in the semi finals, and Gawad won three games to one. However, in this tournament’s women's event there were no Egyptians competing. Away From Local Limelight Unfortunately, until Monday afternoon there was no mention of the tournament on any Egyptian local newspaper, even though the local sports news sections have had plenty of room after football matches were halted following the Port Said events. But still, with football away from the sports’ limelight, other sports still remain in the shadow. It's ironic seeing that Egyptians seem to fare much better at sports that aren't football. While the national football team comes back from tournament with hoards of fans waiting for them at the airport, even if they are defeated, very few champions in other sports get nearly the same attention, even if they are coming home as winners. Until the local press starts paying attention to players like Abdel Gawad winning second place in an international competition, it will only be his family and friends welcoming him at the airport. |
Be Social
Comments
Leave a Comment