Doha, Qatar: Top seed and World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy arrived in Doha on Thursday evening to take part in the Qatar QTerminals Classic, PSA World Tour Platinum event, which will be held from October 17 to 23 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
The Egyptian was met on arrival by top officials of the Qatar Squash Federation who were at hand to welcome the star player to Doha.
The three-time winner Mohamed ElShorbagy headlines the draw ahead of British Open winner Paul Coll, former World Champion Tarek Momen and younger brother Marwan, Karim Abdel Gawad and Diego Elias.
The seven-day event will see 48 of the world’s leading male squash players battle it out for the $187,500 prize fund during the 20th edition of the annual premier squash tournament.
The last edition of the championship has not been so good for the Egyptian star with the ‘Beast of Alexandria’ suffering a shock defeat at the hands of fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim.
This year, Mohamed ElShorbagy begins his campaign against compatriot Youssef Soliman in a second-round tie, with both players having got first-round byes.
Two Qatari players will also be in action on home soil. Two wild cards Syed Azlan Amjad and Ibrahim Ahmed Al Darwish, both wildcards, will battle it out in the tournament while Qatar’s No.1, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi was forced to pull out as he recovering from an injury.
For the second successive year the tournament will be held as per the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) guidelines.
“All the health protocols as mandated by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) are in place for the tournament and will be implemented during the tournament,” said Tariq Zainal, Secretary-General of Qatar Tennis Squash Badminton Federation about the event.
