El Hammamy pays tribute to Nour El Sherbini, as imperious Egypt maintain world title quest
Egypt one match away from fourth successive women’s World Squash Team Championships title after whitewashing Belgium
An “exhausted” Hania El Hammamy said “big sister” figure Nour El Sherbini had united Egypt’s team of all stars on their quest for a fourth straight World Squash Team Championships (WSTC) crown.
The imperious Egyptians beat Belgium 3-0 in their semi-final on Friday, after world No 3 El Hammamy began the tie with a gripping 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 13-11 victory over Tinne Gilis. In Sunday’s final, Egypt will meet USA, after Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Weaver won matches that went the distance against Rachel Arnold and Sivasangari Subramaniam, respectively.
New world No 1 Nouran Gohar, with whom El Hammamy shares a spiky longstanding rivalry, opted out of this week’s team event at Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC). Egypt remain power packed, nonetheless, with El Hammamy joined in her team by world No 2 El Sherbini, who whizzed past Nele Coll 11-4, 11-4, 11-6, in 23 minutes, to give Egypt an unassailable 2-0 advantage, Rowan Elaraby, the world No 7, and eighth-ranked Amina Orfi.
El Hammamy, who made her WSTC debut as part of Egypt’s 2022 champion team, told the Post: “Being in a team with all my rivals is completely different from [playing regular tour events], but I am more familiar with how I can feel better with them this time.
“Nour is such a big sister in the way she leads us and helps create a smooth environment. It’s such a privilege and honour to be part of this team.
