Shabana bows out of Pakistan Open Squash

ISLAMABAD—World no.1 Egyptian Amr Shabana bowed out of Pakistan Open World Squash Championship with a stomach bug while fancied former champion James Willstrop of England also lost to a lower-ranked Egyptian Karim Darwish in the quarter-final upsets at Mushaf Squash Complex on Thursday.
The World no. 5 Frenchman Gregory Gaultier of France won the first game 11-7 and led 7-4 in the second game before Shabana withdrew after only 15 minutes into the last quarter-final clash of the day. “I suffered food poisoning two days back and this drained my energy, forcing me to pull out against Gaultier”, said Amr Shabana who was the top seed of the US $ 85,000 prestigious championship.
In the day’s first quarter-final, the world no. 10 Egyptian Karim Darwish stunned world no. 4 James Willstrop, who won the same title here in 2004, with a match score of 10-11(2-0), 11-10(2-0), 10-11(2-0), 11-6, 11-10(2-0) as the match went to the very wire—decision coming after full five games and 73 minutes. Willstrop had a match point at 10-9 in the last game but hit the tin as Karim Darwish slipped back into reckoning and won the pulsating encounter. Upcoming Ramay Ashour also caused a sort of upset as the world no. 9 Egyptian beat the world no. 6 Australian Anthony Ricketts by 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 in 53 minutes. Ramay Ashour, winner of world junior title here in 2004, is now strongly tipped to capture the top prize in this tournament.
Defending Champion Thierry Lincou of France, now the world no. 3, also made it to the semi-finals with an efficient 5-11, 11-10(3-1), 11-9, 11-9 victory over the world no. 12 Aussie Stewart Boswell.
In the semi-finals on Friday, Thierry Lincou will take on Karim Darwish at 4.30 p.m. while in another Frenchman-Egyptian semi-final Ramay Ashour will clash with Gregory Gaultier at 6.00 p.m.
“We have two Egyptians in the semi-finals and hopefully one of them will take the title”, world no. 1 Shabana said after pulling out of his quarter-final. “Inshaallah, I will make amends the next time”, he said when told by reporters that people here wanted him to go all the way in this tournament. Egyptian ambassador in Islamabad, who watched all four quarter-finals, hoped his compatriots will establish supremacy against the Frenchmen.—Agencies