Egypt squash star Ali Farag embraces Olympics pressure after world teams glory in Hong Kong
Sport’s introduction in Los Angeles raises prospect of north African nation claiming multiple medals at a Games for first time since 1948
The world’s leading squash player, Ali Farag, acknowledges that Egypt’s collection of superstars will have targets on their backs all the way through to the 2028 Olympic Games.
Farag celebrated wildly after clinching the victory over England’s Mohamed Elshorbagy that secured Egypt’s fourth successive World Squash Team Championships (WSTC) crown at Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) on Sunday.
Egypt’s women survived the absence of world No 1 Nouran Gohar to claim their own fourth straight title, after beating an adhesive United States team 2-0 in the final.
“I would be lying if I said we didn’t feel [we had a target on our back], and that it doesn’t come with pressure,” world No 1 Farag told the Post.
“But being the country everyone wants to beat also comes with the privilege of other teams giving us respect. We have a great head coach [Hesham El Attar], who finds the words to motivate us, without putting any pressure on us.”
The introduction of squash for the Los Angeles Olympics has raised the prospect of Egypt winning multiple gold medals at a Games for the first time since 1948.
