Former World No.1 Gawad Set To Return

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Feb, 2023 ) :Former World No.1 and World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad would make his return to the sport following a 10-month spell on the sidelines when he lines up at the Black Ball Squash Open between March 2-7.

Gawad has been receiving treatment for a foot injury that has affected him since September 2020 and since then has fallen from No.3 in the world to his current ranking of No.19, said a press release.

The 31-year-old - who is popular with fans for his incredible touch and world-class shot-making abilities - would make his comeback with a first-round fixture against Frenchman Auguste Dussourd, with the winner set to face No.5 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy in the last 16 at the Black Ball Sporting Club.

Current World No.1 Mostafa Asal was seeded first for the tournament and will take on either Fares Dessouky or Raphael Kandra in round two after receiving a bye in round one. Asal was seeded to face former World No.1 Paul Coll in the semi-finals.

The other half of the draw could feature ElShorbagy and World No.

2 Ali Farag in a blockbuster quarter-final battle, with the winner of that fixture predicted to play the in-form Peruvian Diego Elias in the last four.

Reigning champion Nouran Gohar heads up the women's draw, with the World No.1 facing either USA's Sabrina Sobhy or wildcard Lauren Baltayan in the second round. From there, Gohar is seeded to play England's Sarah-Jane Perry in the quarter-finals and New Zealand's Joelle King in the semis.

No.2 seed Nour El Sherbini - who has won two titles at the Black Ball Sporting Club previously - was seeded to play World No.5 Amanda Sobhy in the quarter-finals and World No.3 Hania El Hammamy in the last four in a repeat of the 2021 Black Ball Squash Open final.

The Black Ball Squash Open would offer a $220,000 prize purse split equally across the men's and women's draws. The event would go ahead as a PSA World Tour Gold tournament following the dip in the value of the Egyptian pound, which has resulted in the classification of the event changing from a Platinum event to a Gold one.