Willstrop romps past Ashour in NAS squash exhibition

James Willstrop proved why he was a former world number one romping to a 3-0 win over Egypt’s Ramy Ashour in the finals of the exhibition squash competition as part of the Nad Al Sheba 2014 Sports Tournament being held at the NAS Sports Complex, on Wednesday.

Willstrop and Ashour had booked their place in the final of this four-man exhibition with convincing wins against locally based players Aamir Khan and Mubarak Mohsin, the two finalists of the NAS squash competition held earlier this week.

Watched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, Willstrop got the better of Mohsin 11-8, 11-9, after Ashour had defeated NAS squash champion Aamir Khan 11-5, 11-5 before their final showdown.

The 30-year-old Englishman, who is currently world number six, took his time to settle in allowing his younger opponent from Egypt an early 3-0 lead.

But struggling with a hamstring injury, Ashour could not sustain the tempo as Willstrop took the first game 11-7.

The second game was closer as Ashour tried to match his clever opponent who kept on forcing him on his backhand shots in an attempt to aggravate the hamstring.

Willstrop broke away at 8-7 and went on to win the second game 11-8.

In the third game, Willstrop raced off to a 10-4 cushion before wrapping up the encounter 11-5.

“This is exactly the level of competition we need to take squash to the next level,” said Dr. Abdul Hameed Al Attar, General Manager of the NAS 2014 Sports Tournament that has a total prize fund in excess of Dh7 million this year.

“We hope we can build on the success of this exhibition. We have some plans in the pipeline and further details will be made known in the future,” he added.

Willstrop was thrilled with his debut in Dubai. “We need top-level competition in Dubai. Dubai is today one of the main sporting venues in the world and I am surprised how such a place is not part of the PSA circuit. I am only too keen to lend a helping hand to aid the growth of squash in this region,” Willstrop said.

VOLLEYBALL

Meanwhile, in the volleyball competition Zabeel defeated Expo 2020 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 25-15 while Fursan got the better of Bin Subaith 10, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-18) to set a meeting with Zabeel in Sunday’s final.

The NAS 2014 Sports Tournament is sponsored by Emirates, Dubai Duty Free, Meydan, Al Tayer Motors, Al Naboodah and Arabian Automobiles Al Rostamani.
 

 

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