Ashour, the
title-holder, dropped his first game of the tournament against fellow countryman
Tarek Momen, giving the large crowd just a hint of an upset after trailing
one-love after the first. However, the 18-year-old from Cairo reclaimed the
advantage in the second game and went on to win convincingly 7-9 9-3 9-1 9-4 in
58 minutes.
Ashour admitted afterwards that the first game was a wake-up
call which sparked him into action: “I could tell straight away that Tarek was
at the peak of his game and I had to call on all my skills to get back on top.
There was no way I was going to let myself be beaten in the semi!”
In
the other semi-final, Mosaad secured his unexpected victory over lone Pakistani
Aamir Atlas Khan, the No2 seed, in a 9-1 9-5 9-7 scoreline – becoming the sole
player left in the tournament to win all his matches in straight games. While
Kahn was arguably the more skilful of the two players, Mosaad proved too
powerful and played to Khan’s weaknesses around court.
The final
promises to be a mouth-watering contest with Ramy Ashour looking to cement his
name in squash history by becoming the first man to win two world junior
championships.
Full results, draws and seedings for the Teams
championship, are available from the tournament website: http://www.2006worldjuniors.co.nz/26.html
For the latest information, check the official website www.2006worldjuniors.co.nz or www.worldsquash.org
RESULTS: Prince Men's World Junior Squash
Championship, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Semi-finals:
[1] Ramy
Ashour (EGY) bt [5/8] Tarek Momen (EGY) 7-9, 9-3, 9-1,
9-4 (58m)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [2] Aamir Atlas Khan
(PAK) 9-1, 9-5, 9-7 (46m)