International Sport Spotlight
The Department of Recreational Sports will be highlighting a different international sport in our International Sport Spotlight section. This is the place where you will learn about sports being played in different countries, learn about a different culture, and find out how to get involved in this sport or culture at Ohio State.
Egyptians ‘squash’ the competition
As Americans, we know football is perceived almost as a way of life in the United States. We believe Canadians pick up a hockey stick when they first put on skates. We also think most people from the Dominican Republic hail those who can swing at a baseball.
Different countries are known for certain sports, but what country do we as Americans associate with the seemingly uncommon game of squash? Perhaps we could see squash being played at England prep schools, but in reality, the world’s top ranked squash players come from somewhere quite unlikely. Egypt.
Egypt is a country not exactly known for any type of sporting tradition. Though the idea of squash being popular among Egyptians isn’t new, only within the past few years have they begun to dominate the sport. There are currently five Egyptians ranked in the top 20 of the Professional Squash Association’s world rankings, including the No. 1 spot held by Amr Shabana of Giza, Egypt. Shabana, 28, joined the professional tour as a teen in 1996.
Squash in Egypt has long been available to the working and middle classes and several kids play the game seriously at various recreational clubs. Its popularity has created players who join the professional ranks as early as age 15 and develop into players like 19-year-old US Open qualifier, Omar Mosaad, who is now defeating players ranked in the top 10.
The competition that Egyptian players receive from training together even as professionals and their new emphasis on fitness has pushed the current crop of players to the forefront, says Hisham Ashour, a world class player. Besides from playing together, they play in a similar style. Most Egyptians employ a shot-making strategy that stresses quickness instead of power. This technique is taught at the El-Borolossy Squash Academy, an open facility that is currently blossoming 230 junior players into world class powerhouses.
It may be surprising to Americans that squash is first among individual sports in Egypt, but to Egyptians this game is a way of life. Omar El-Borolossy, the Squash Academy founder, has a 5-year-old son who is just picking up a racket.
|
