Egyptian player Karim Darwish, the former world number one, announced his retirement at the age of 33 on Friday. "After a successful 16-year career and achieving most of my goals, starting with winning the World Junior Championship to reaching the top of the world ranking, I decided to call it a day," Darwish was quoted as saying by Squash Site. "I started playing Squash at the age of 6, and ever since, Squash has been my only passion. "I was lucky I had the chance to pursue my dream as a professional Squash player. So it's hard to believe that I won't be competing on that high level anymore," he added. Darwish won the World Junior Championship title in 2000 and the British Junior Open in 1999 before rising to fame on the senior level. He finished as runner-up in the World Open in 2008 after losing to compatriot Ramy Ashour in the final before becoming the world number one in January 2009 when he won the PSA World Series Saudi International, defeating Amr Shabana, Nick Matthew and Gregory Gaultier en route to the title. He remained on top of the world ranking for 11 months in 2009. "I'm now the Sports Director at [Egyptian club] Wadi Degla, who is hosting the Women's World Championship next December. My new goal is helping the sport reach the place it deserves," Darwish said. (For more sports news and updates, follow AhramOnline Sports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/114439.aspx
