El Hindi Triumphs In Cairo Petrosport Final

The inaugural Petrosport International Championship final in Cairo - featuring two of the Egyptian capital's finest international squash stars - came to a magnificent climax at the Sky Club when fifth seed Wael El Hindi emerged triumphant after four games against fourth seed Karim Darwish to win the $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum event title, and the first Super Series trophy of his career.

Despite the fact that 12 Egyptians lined up in the first round of this 32-man event - the fifth PSA Super Series event of the year - only one was predicted to reach the final. But, following the shock exit of second-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the first round, and the disappointing early retirement of Egyptian favourite Amr Shabana, the world number one, in the semi-finals, it was a dream 'hometown' climax that was presented to the packed final crowd.

El Hindi, the 28-year-old who slipped from 9 to 12 in the world rankings this month, took a two-game lead - then overcame a third-game fight back by Darwish, the world No8, to record a dramatic 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 victory after 67 minutes.

"Such a relief, a big relief," were the new champion's first words to www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards. "In the first two games I was playing rather well, and especially moving so well, and I could smell the pressure on him. And every time I was looking at him, I knew I was getting stronger and stronger, and that I was doing the right thing.

"But again - as I did so many times in my career, when I found myself at 2/0 up - I starting thinking that I was maybe going to win the match, and lost my way," explained El Hindi, now with six PSA Tour titles to his name.

"I had so many conversations with Jonah (Barrington) about that problem. And he told me just relax, take it point by point, don't get excited. And at 8/8 in the fourth, that's exactly what I did, I said to myself, let's take one point at a time, and it worked, and I ended up with the biggest win of my career."

Like El Hindi, Darwish was also celebrating his maiden appearance in a Super Series final. But the 26-year-old could not hide his disappointment at the outcome: "I'm so disappointed. I played well all week, but tonight, I just couldn't play my game.

"There was so much pressure on me tonight, he was more relaxed than I was, and he deserved to win."

Richard Graham, the recently-installed Chief Executive of the PSA, was also witnessing his first major Tour event in Egypt, one of the leading countries for the sport: "This was a stunning final, and I would like to congratulate Wael and Karim for the great show they gave us tonight.

"I hope this is an event where will be coming to for many years to come."

The Petrosport triumph also marked a sensational week for British squash legend Jonah Barrington. The former record six-time British Open champion not only coaches El Hindi, but also fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy, the 17-year-old who four days earlier became the World Junior champion in Switzerland!

Final:
[5] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [4] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 (67m)