Egypt’s squash rivals will need to work smarter to beat world’s best in LA, Crouin says
Egypt’s men in finals of the World Team Squash Championships for seventh straight tournament, and seem destined to win Olympic gold in 2028
France’s top squash player Victor Crouin said smarter scheduling over the next few seasons could be the key to challenging Egypt at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Victor Crouin was two points away from beating Ali Farag as the two countries battled it out in the men’s semi-finals of the World Team Championships in Hong Kong on Saturday, before the Egyptian bounced back to take the match 1-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6.
Reigning Hong Kong Squash Open champion Mostafa Asal then delivered the winning point over Baptiste Masotti to seal Egypt’s seventh straight world championship final appearance on Sunday.
And world No 12 Crouin had nothing but praise for his opponent after swallowing a “tough” loss.
“In the third game I could feel the adrenaline, I could feel the finish line and I try and stay cool, but Ali just kept fighting and was a bit better in the last few rallies of that game,” he said. “I lost quite quickly [in the fourth] but I came back with a lot of intention in the fifth.
“He’s world No 1 for a reason, and obviously I can learn a lot from this match and be proud of myself, especially for those first two games and hopefully I can use that to my advantage in the second half of the season. I’m quite happy to have fought hard until the end for the team and to have been close.”
