Ramy & Raneem Reap Hurghada Rewards
20 May 2011
Ramy Ashour and Raneem El Weleily triumphed in contrasting Hurghada International finals to secure a popular home double in the international squash circuit event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
In what he described as 'one of the toughest matches we've played together', world No2 Ashour faced his Egyptian team-mate and fellow former world number one Karim Darwish, currently ranked three in the world, in the climax of the men's PSA World Tour International 70 event.
In a repeat of the 2010 final, 23-year-old defending champion Ashour came back from 2/1 down to overcome his Cairo compatriot 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-3 in 80 minutes to claim the title for the fourth year in a row.
"We both played well and we gave it 100 percent from all aspects," exclaimed the champion after his marathon success. "I think it was one of the toughest matches we've played together.
"I wanted to finish the year with a good result, unlike the last one, and I think the effort I did paid off.
"I want to thank my fitness coach Mohammed El Sayed and my squash feeder Haitham Effat, and our National Coach Amir Wagih, and ATCO."
The win marks up the 20th PSA World Tour title of Ashour's career.
The final of the women's WISPA World Tour Silver 20 event produced a breakthrough win for Raneem El Weleily against her country's number one Omneya Abdel Kawy.
Fourth seed El Weleily made her breakthrough in the previous round when she upset Australian favourite Rachael Grinham, a three-time Hurghada International champion.
But in her eighth Tour clash with world No8 Abdel Kawy since June 2006, El Weleily claimed her maiden victory - beating the title-holder and four times champion 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 in just 27 minutes.
"I am so happy to win - I dreamed of winning this title since so long," said the 22-year-old world No12 from Alexandria.
"I want to thank all my family and friends for being here to support me, and of course a big thank you to all my coaches who made this possible."
The triumph marks El Weleily's second WISPA trophy.
Men's final:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [2] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-3 (80m)
Women's final:
[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 (27m)