Egyptian Squash athletes start strong at the WSF Women’s World Team Championship
WSF Women’s World Team Champions Egypt started strong by defeating Switzerland in the long-anticipated championship, maintaining its lead status with the sport’s worldwide audience as a witness. The tournament was put on hold for a while as a result of the coronavirus pandemic; the last tournament took place in 2018 in China.
Nouran Gohar, the 25-year-old Egyptian athlete who currently holds the world No. 1 title, appears to be in good shape and in the zone; she concurred her first match, defeating Cindy Merlo, Switzerland’s Champion in the first tie of the pools stage at the Madinaty Sporting Club. She scored 11-4, 11-2, and 11-3 in 18 minutes setting the tone for the entire tournament.
“It’s always great to play the World Teams, especially after we missed it for four years! Now we’re back in Egypt and it’s very special to us. We hope we can make everyone here proud,” Gohar shared after her win.
Following Gohar’s lead, Nour El Tayeb and Hania El Hammamy, World Team Championship debutant did their part, beating Ambre Allinckx and Nadia Pfister, respectively, with 3-0 wins as well.
Results of day one: WSF Women’s World Team Championship Pools Stage
Pool A: [1] EGYPT 3-0 SWITZERLAND
Nouran Gohar 3-0 Cindy Merlo: 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (18m)
Nour El Tayeb 3-0 Ambre Allinckx: 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (20m)
Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Nadia Pfister: 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (24m)
Pool B: [2] USA 3-0 AUSTRALIA
Amanda Sobhy 3-0 Jess Turnbull: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (21m)
Olivia Blatchford Clyne 3-0 Sarah Cardwell: 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (22m)
Olivia Fiechter 3-0 Alex Haydon: 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (22m)
Pool C: [3] ENGLAND 3-0 SOUTH AFRICA
Jasmine Hutton 3-2 Alexandra Fuller: 13-11, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4 (44m)
Julianne Courtice 3-0 Cheyna Wood: 11-0, 11-3, 11-1 (16m)
Lucy Turmel 3-0 Lizelle Muller: 11-1, 11-7, 11-7 (11m)
Pool D: [4] FRANCE 2-1 JAPAN
Melissa Alves 1-3 Satomi Watanabe: 4-11, 11-8, 10-12, 5-11 (42m)
Coline Aumard 3-1 Risa Sugimoto: 11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 (40m)
Camille Serme 3-0 Akari Midorikawa: 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (19m)
Pool D: [5/6] MALAYSIA 3-0 CHINESE TAIPEI
Rachel Arnold 3-0 Lee Yi-Hsuan: 11-4, 11-1, 1-2 (15m)
Yee Xin Ying 3-0 Wei-Ting Huang: 11-5, 11-4, 11-1 (14m)
Chan Yiwen 3-0 Wang Yuan: 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 (13m)
