Egypt’s former world number one Mohamed ElShorbagy has thanked Paul Coll’s coach for motivating him to beat the Kiwi in the world squash championships semifinal.
The 30-year-old West Coaster lost 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 7-11 in a 109-minute encounter on Saturday (Sunday NZ time) in Cairo.
The loss also puts the world No 1 ranking in doubt for Coll as the battle for the top spot continues against Egyptian Ali Farag, who can reclaim the position if he wins the tournament.
Afterwards, ElShorbagy praised Coll but took a shot at his coach, Rob Owen, over an article he had been quoted in stating that Coll was almost unbeatable.
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“I felt bad for him and I knew this was going to [put] so much on him,’’ ElShorbagby said. “That was one of the most stupid articles I’ve ever read and I really hope, as good as he is, as a great coach, but he showed that he has no experience with his player being seeded No.1 in a World Champ.
“So thanks to him, he gave me such an advantage in winning that fifth game, because Paul had so much in his mind in that fifth game today. So thanks Rob for the article, thanks so much for that.”
PSA
Paul Coll is all concentration as he prepares to play a shot against Mohamed ElShorbagy.
Going into the match, third ranked ElShorbagy had looked in deadly form against fellow Alexandrian and world No.10 Fares Dessouky in his quarterfinal while Coll came rough an exhausting 122-minute win over former champ Tarek Momen.
There were worrying signs for Coll in the early stages as he was caught out of position a number of times in opening game.
The hero of Greymouth, sporting strapping on his right knee, struggled to react to ElShorbagy’s shots at the front of the court.
After taking the opening game 11-4, ElShorbagy continued to play immaculate squash early on in the second. A number of lengthy rallies dominated the early stages as the players exchanged points.
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