CHENNAI – As the top two seeds, Egyptians Mazen Sabri and Zahed Mohammed took their appointed places in the men’s final but in the women’s title round it will be Camilla Tomlinson of Great Britain and top seed Olga Ertlova of Czech Republic who will be the contestants as the final moments in the individual competitions approached in the 8th World University Squash Championship on Wednesday 3 September.
For those who had gathered at the Indian Squash Academy the start to the semi-finals was unusual. Second seed Farah Abdel Megid of Egypt seemed to have started on the wrong foot, so to say. First she had to go for a change of attire because ‘shorts’ was not an acceptable dress under the rules. Then when the contest began she began to face too many hurdles, thanks to Camilla’s intelligent approach. Playing into an established rival’s hands was not the British’s plan for the day. True, she lost the first game closely but from then on decided to change strides. “I knew her (Farah) ability to play the drop shots. I was careful to check that. I still am lucky I won. I am happy”, said the British girl all smiles, obviously pleased with the day’s work.
Zahed admitted he was a bit nervous against the Pakistan opponent Saqib Yousaf, who showed a good hand in playing to the corners. “I had to be careful to see he did not play so many of those shots”, said the Egyptian after conceding one game. As the contest wore Fahed was lot more at ease. “The surface in the glass court certainly helped me move around nicely”, he said in the aftermath of his good win.
Then came the sprightly Czech Olga and like earlier, she was a girl in hurry, this time against South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller. Cross court shots, punctuated with good drops featured Olga’s dominance in the day’s shortest semi-final (just 29 minutes). For sheer class Mazen’s play was something to behold. The lanky Eddie Charlton (Great Britain) was driven to despair and nothing reflected that better than the final point which he contested with a scream. The referee ruled Mazen’s return was good and there ended a contest where the Briton was thoroughly outplayed. The deft drops to the corners the skilful twirl of the wrist to send the ball cross court were some of the highlights in Mazen’s approach and that alone provides for a fascinating finale on Thursday.
RESULTS DAY 3 – SEMI-FINALS
Men: Zahed Mohammad (EGY) bt Saqib Yousaf (PAK) 11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7; Mazen Sabri (EGY) bt Eddie Charlton (GBR) 13-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Women: Camilla Tomlinson (GBR) bt Farah Abdel Megid (EGY) 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7; Olga Ertlova (CZE) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 11-7, 11-3, 11-5
NEWS BULLETIN
(Source: S. R. Suryanarayan, WUC Squash Media)