Engelbrecht Denies Egyptian Clean Sweep In Cairo

Only South African Jesse Engelbrecht prevented a clean sweep of Egyptians taking all the qualifying slots available in the Hurghada International, the joint PSA and WISPA Tour squash event taking place at the National Stadium in Nasr City in the Egyptian capital Cairo before moving on to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Durban-born Engelbrecht, boasting a career-high world ranking of 62, fought back from 1/2 down to beat Cairo-based Yasser El Halaby 11-6, 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-10 (4-2) in 56 minutes in the men's qualifying finals.

The UK-based 25-year-old is drawn to meet second seed Ramy Ashour in the first round. Ashour, the 20-year-old world No2 from Cairo, is playing his first PSA Tour event on home soil since entering the world's top 20.

Amr Mansi scored a notable qualifying finals upset when he beat fellow Egyptian Tarek Momen - ranked 30 places higher in the world - 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. The 25-year-old from Alexandria's reward is a first round meeting with event favourite Amr Shabana, the world No1 from Giza.

Egypt's future strength on the world squash stage was powerfully marked by the triumphs of two 15-year-olds in the women's qualifying finals. Nouran El Torky, from Alexandria, defeated compatriot Salma Hany 8-10, 4-9, 9-5, 9-6, 10-8 in 76 minutes - and will now face 19-year-old Raneem El Weleily, the sixth seed who is also from Alexandria.

Nour El Tayeb, the 15-year-old world No 105 from Cairo, achieved her qualifying success by beating Nouran's older sister Heba El Torky 9-6, 4-9, 9-1, 9-4. El Tayeb will now meet Malaysian Tricia Chuah, the No8 seed, in the first round.

Australia's world No3 Rachael Grinham, who is based in Cairo, is seeded to win the title for the fourth time in her sixth successive final. The 31-year-old world champion takes on England's Lauren Siddall in the first round.

Men's qualifying finals:
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt John Rooney (IRL) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (45m)
Amr Mansi (EGY) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (41m)
Amr Swelim (EGY) bt Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-9, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 (62m)
Jesse Engelbrecht (RSA) bt Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 11-6, 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-10 (4-2) (56m)

Women's qualifying finals:
Amnah El Trabolsy (EGY) bt Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) 9-4, 9-4, 9-1 (28m)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Heba El Torky (EGY) 9-6, 4-9, 9-1, 9-4 (54m)
Nouran El Torky (EGY) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 8-10, 4-9, 9-5, 9-6, 10-8 (76m)
Eman El Amir (EGY) bt Adel Weir (RSA) 10-8, 9-2, 9-5 (30m)