Ramy Ashour Wins One for Egypt

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Ramy Ashour, left, plays Amr Shabana in Kuwait in April of 2008.

Egyptian squash superstar Ramy Ashour won his second career Tournament of Champions in New York City this past week. He earned a hard-fought victory over England’s Nick Matthew 11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 in the final. Matthew went into the tournament with the world number one ranking, but with the 23-year-old Ashour close on his heels at the number two position. So, this may just be the win that catapults Ashour back into the top spot.  Back home in Egypt historic clashes are taking place between the Hasni Mubarak’s government and anti-government forces. Ashour, for his part, acknowledged the events going on back home, dedicating his victory to “all of Egypt.”

Egyptians continue to dominate the men’s professional squash circuit. Ashour’s countryman, Amr Shabana, who lost in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions to Matthew, is also in the top five of the world rankings. The Cairo-born Ashour first attained the number one position in December of 2009. At the age of 22 at the time that made him the youngest world number one player since Pakistan’s Jahangir Khan and his brother Jansher, Ashour’s favorite player, almost thirty years ago. Ramy Ashour has been busy making history throughout his young career. Now he and the world watch as history unfolds in his home country of Egypt.

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