Squash: Egypt's ElShorbagy brothers make history in World Championship final faceoff

Ahram Online , Sunday 17 Dec 2017

ElShorbagy
Egypt's ElShorbagy brothers to meet in World Championship final (Photo: psaworldtour.com)

Egyptian brothers Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy will become the first two siblings to ever face off in a PSA World Squash Championship men's final when they meet on Sunday in Manchester.

Mohamed and Marwan made it to the finals after defeating World No.1 Gregory Gaultier and World No.3 Ali Farag respectively in the semifinals.

"Greg is 34 years old and I’m 26, and that was the 22nd time we played on the tour, that shows how great he is as a player and what he has achieved," Mohamed told the tournament's official website.

Marwan had a tougher game with fellow Egyptian Farag, needing five sets to win (11-8, 4-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9).

“This is for our family. Two brothers in a final, I don’t think it has ever been done before. We’re so close to each other and it is a dream for both of us, and these are the kind of things you visualise when you are young. It’s a dream come true," Marwan said after the game.

“Just to have my mum here watching is amazing and this is for her and for our family. She is always there and always supports us,” he added.

This is the 11th time the brothers meet in the PSA World Tour, with Mohamed having won eight engagements.

While this is the first time for brothers to compete in the finals since the championship started in 1976, Australia's Grinham sisters, Rachael and Natalie, faced off against each other in the 2007 women's finals.

This year's women's finals also will see an all-Egyptian faceoff, where Nour El-Sherbini and Raneem El-Welily will compete in a replay of the last final in April in Gouna.

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