Egypt's Ihab El-Mesiry beat fellow countryman Khaled Erfan to win the third Arab Billiards Championship currently taking place in Hurghada. Inas Mazhar reports In the event that brought together five Arab countries in its third edition -- namely Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the host nation Egypt -- defending champion Ihab El- Mesiry beat Khaled Erfan 3-2 in a thrilling final match of the tournament. El- Mesiry had won four matches before reaching the final, beating Iraqi Louay Mohamed in the first round, Lebanon's George Latif in the second round, Jordan's Mohamed Qalawy in the quarterfinals and Egypt's Adel Atia in the semifinal. Erfan also won four matches en route to the final before losing to the eventual champion El- Mesiry. He beat Lebanese Abbas Nanoue, Syrian Michel Khoury, Lebanese Maged Elias and Jordanian Mouaied Haddad. In the teams' event, the four Arab countries took part with one team each - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan -- and Egypt participated with two, bringing the tournament round-robin up to a total six teams. Egypt came first, followed by Lebanon in the second spot and Syria placed third. Simultaneously in Hurghada, the newly- created World Cup is taking place with a total 112 players representing 24 countries partaking. The coupling of the World and Arab championships reflect the growing place of the Red Sea resort as a global hub for the sport. "We used to have only one tournament here in Hurghada, only the Euro Cup, but this year the International Billiards Federation decided to combine the World Cup and the Euro Cup in one tournament," said Egyptian Billiard Federation board member Mohamed El-Beheiry. The tournament's main draw started Tuesday with 32 players, including two wild cards for the hosts Egypt: Arab champion and Egypt's top ranked player Ihab El-Mesiry, and Hamdi Badr, Egypt's number two. The World Cup is expected to witness tough competition and much tantalising play given its success in luring the world's top ranked players to the shores of the Red Sea. Turkey's Semih Sayginer, Belgium's Frederic Caudron, Sweden's Torbjorn Blomdahl, Holland's Dick Jaspers, Italy's Marco Zanetto and Daniel Sanchez of Spain will all be competing in the open-air, glass court on the island of Magawish. Players and guests are transferred to the venue by ferry -- a 20 minute journey. Turnout thus far has been great. It seems that July is the month of billiards, so-to-speak. Aside from the two international tournaments attracting players and spectators from around the world, Saturday will also see the General Assembly of the International Federation take place, when elections for a new term of the board will be held. Egypt's Farouk El- Bakry, vice president of both the Egyptian and European Federations, as well as a member of the international federation, will be running for election as a board member for the coming term. The General Assembly is also expected to discuss the budget of the past year and to propose recommendations for amending the rules of the Carom game (that which comprises the current competitions). The events of the past weeks, and indeed the coming few, have brought the nation into the center of the sport's global spotlight. From the level of professionalism and the hospitality of the people, to the organisation of the tournaments and quality of play, Egypt is being hailed as the evolving billiard centre of the world.
