From A Reader: Egyptian Success Worth Reflecting Upon

Egypt's meteoric rise to the top echelons of squash is worth reflecting upon and celebrating.

Here's just a sample of some of the nation's recent successes:

1.  Champions in the Men's World Championships
2.  Champions  Junior Women's World Championships
3.  Champions U 21 World Cup
4,  5 Men's players ranked inside the top 12 PSA rankings
6.  11 men ranked within the top 40
7.   5 women ranked within the WISPA top 30.

On top of these results, Egypt has made its presence known in the US and had a tremendously positive impact on the growth of the game. Here's a few of their successes in America:

1. Recently, America's first PST tour champion was Egyptian, Wael El-Hindi.
2. Boys Intercollegiate Champion, Harvard's Ali Farag, is also Egyptian.
3. Girls Intercollegiate Champion, Amanda Sobhy of Harvard, was coached by her father, Egyptian, Khaled Sobhy.
4. The only collegiate player to win 4 individual national championships is Egyptian, Yasser El-Helaby of Princeton
5. 5 of the 10 US Junior National Champions are and/or have been coached by Egyptians over the years. These include:

GU19-    Sabrina Sobhy coached by Khaled Sobhy
BU19-    Dylan Murray coached by Gamal Amir
BU17-   Anders Larson coached by Mostaffa Essam
BU13-   Ryan Murray coached by Gamal Amir
GU11-   Olivia Robinson coached by Wael El-Hindi

The success of squash in Egypt has clearly had a marked influence on America's squash scene. NY Times writer, Andy Isaacson eloquently described the athletic and skillful style of Egypt's play in this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/sports/with-a-deft-touch-egyptians-put-their-mark-on-squash.html

As America continues to increase its status and reputation within the sport of squash, our relationship with Egyptian squash coaches will continue to achieve extraordinary results.

-From a reader