Egypt's sports newsmakers of 2010 Heba El-Borini THE GYMNAST went where no African or Arab has gone before -- placing 71st out of 148 rhythmic gymnasts taking part in the World Championships in Moscow, breaking the Egyptian record of 90. The 16-year-old and her teammates also placed 29th out of 38 participating teams in the group event. "Of course I'm happy with my achievement which came after years of hard work and training," El-Borini said. "And I'm also glad for Egypt's team victory because it's the first time that Egypt appears in the standings in any world championship. We were usually placed at the bottom of the table. Now, this is a great achievement in itself," El-Borini said. The Egyptian prodigy was praised by officials from the International Gymnastics Federation for her "distinguished performance." Before competing in Moscow, El-Borini, who studies in the British University in Egypt, scored 88 points in the World Cup in Italy in August, far ahead of her teammates who registered scores of 70 and 72 in their first appearance at a World Cup. Omnia Abdel-Qawi DESPITE losing the Women's World Squash Championship, Abdel-Qawi became the first Egyptian ever to reach the world final but couldn't get a foothold in the match until the second game, which she led 3-0 and 6-3. She eventually lost 3-1 to the world champion Nicol David of Malaysia. Abdel-Qawi, 25, is currently fifth in the world. This year she was runner-up in the Burning River Classic, the Harrow Greenwich Open Championship in the US and the CIMB KL Open in Malaysia where she was defeated by David 3-0 in the final. In May, she won the Hurghada International title after beating compatriot Ingie Kheirallah 3-0 in the final. Rami Ashour FOLLOWING his victory at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, Ashour reclaimed the world No 1 ranking in the new September Dunlop PSA men's world squash rankings published by the Professional Squash Association. The 22-year-old from Cairo first secured the top spot in January this year but was replaced in June by England's Nick Matthew who arrived in Hong Kong with five successive PSA World Tour titles to his credit, including the previous two PSA Super Series events, the Sky Open and Australian Open. Ashour failed to win a single tournament after mid-year, however, he remains the world's best. Karim Darwish THE EL-GOUNA International Squash Open was Darwish's first win of a PSA Super Series tournament in 2010. And he deservingly claimed the title after beating the world's top ranked player, fellow Egyptian Rami Ashour in a game that saw world class squash. Darwish would go on to clinch the first Red Bull Temple squash tournament played at Luxor Temple after beating Ashour. It was the second time in one month that Darwish beat Ashour in an international squash final. The world's former No 1 and currently third-ranked in the Professional Squash Association is at his peak these days after his third consecutive win in just one month. Before El-Gouna, Darwish won the Qatar International in Doha after beating the former world champion and the current number 5 Amr Shabana, another Egyptian. With the victory in Qatar, Darwish now boasts 19 PSA Tour titles. Hossam El-Badri UNDER fire all season for a string of lacklustre displays, Ahli football coach El-Badri is now plying his trade in Merrikh in Sudan. El-Badri, who made his debut as Ahli coach last year after five years in the shadows of Portuguese manager Manuel Jose, was unable to handle the pressure of leading Egypt's most successful team. El-Badri resigned close to mid-season after going down 3-1 to Ismaili. He was good enough to thank everybody who supported him this season. "I also respect those who criticised me although I was rebuilding the team." Mustafa Fahmi THE AFRICAN Football Confederation's (CAF) secretary-general, Fahmi was appointed director of competitions in FIFA, the world's governing body in football. Fahmi started his job at the home of FIFA at the end of September. By that time, he had spent 28 years as secretary-general and 32 years in service at CAF. Fahmi replaced American Jim Brown who decided to step down for family reasons. It was the first time in FIFA's history that a member of the FIFA management (president, secretary-general or director) was appointed from outside Europe or the Americas. "It's a huge responsibility and I'm looking forward to the new challenge," Fahmi told Al-Ahram Weekly. Suzan Gaber A RELATIVE novice captured a bronze medal for Egypt at the 2010 Cyprus Grand Prix trap, skeet and double trap championship held at Nicosia's Olympic shooting ranges in March. In the junior trap for women, 19-year-old Gaber, though participating in the Grand Prix for the first time, took third place with a total score of 57 targets, a four-target advantage over the rest of the pack. With only four years of practice under her belt, Gaber managed to finish ninth in last year's World Cup in Slovenia. Currently training under the tutelage of legendary American coach Lloyd Woodhouse, Gaber has won almost every national trap women's championship she has entered. Ahmed Hassan NATIONAL football team captain Hassan was named the Africa-based Footballer of the Year following his superb performance at the Angola 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Hassan, 35, was not only selected Most Valuable Player at the Angolan tournament but also became the first player to win the Africa Cup four times with Egypt's third consecutive win. "It's a great honour for me to win this award and I would like to thank everyone who voted for me," Hassan said later. "I would also like to remind everyone that football is a team sport so I would like to thank my teammates and the technical staff for helping me throughout the season. "I've been playing football for almost 17 years now and wish to continue playing as much as I can and achieve all my ambitions and lead my country forward," Hassan added. Hassan fought off a close challenge from TP Mazembe's Alain Kaluyituka Dioko who has been a tower of strength for the DR Congo side who managed to retain their Africa Club Champions League title in 2010 and reach the final of the Club World Cup in the UAE before going down to Inter Milan 3-0. With 170 caps, Hassan is also closing in on the all-time record of 181 held by Saudi goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Deayea. Ali Ibrahim EGYPT'S most accomplished rower, Ibrahim, who took an admirable sixth place in the skiff in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, died this year in a car accident. He was 38. Ibrahim, who also won a silver medal in the 1995 world championships, was hit by a speeding car as he was crossing Salah Salem Street in Nasr City on his way to train the national rowing team. Ibrahim had taken a break from the single to experience the team aspect of the sport. His admirable finish in the Olympics, though an achievement, was not seen as too strange since Egypt invented rowing. It was the main form of transportation on the Nile back when the Pyramids were being built. During Ibrahim's hey day, Egypt was a respectable No 11 in the world in rowing and the best Arab and African country. Mortada Mansour THE FORMER Zamalek club president and ex-parliament member enjoyed a 50-50 judicial season. One court ordered the Zamalek board be disbanded following allegations of vote rigging in last year's elections. Mansour, who was sacked as Zamalek president in 2006 and was runner-up in last year's poll, claimed he lost because of voting irregularities, saying a large number of votes were made by unregistered members. But another court ruled in favour of the board and thus the case is pending. On the sidelines, Mansour's personal vendetta with sports announcer Ahmed Shobeir for slander continued in front of judges, too. Mohamed "Gedo" Naggi FEW had ever heard of him but after the Africa Cup of Nations Gedo became the toast of the town. Hassan Shehata's decision to select the novice was met with derision but in Angola, Gedo became the find of the tournament and of Egyptian football when he finished as top scorer with five goals, all coming as a second-half substitute. But a high-profile problem ballooned when it was discovered he had signed for both Ahli and Zamalek. After months of hearings and negotiations, he officially joined Ahli. Medhat Shalabi THE POPULAR TV football commentator and presenter was suspended by the minister of information after Shalabi read out loud what was later described as an indecent SMS mobile text message sent by a viewer live on his show Modern Sport. Shalabi was warned before about offensive language but after the repeat, the minister had the ethics committee investigate the case and Shalabi suspended until further notice. Shalabi's suspension was the fourth such punitive measure this year taken against TV sports show hosts who have, according to the powers that be, crossed the red line of decency. Hassan Shehata ARGUABLY the most successful national coach in Egypt's football history, FIFA.com paid tribute to Shehata who it called the greatest coach in the history of African football after leading the Pharaohs to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles from 2006 onwards. After the third victory this year, Shehata was approached by a few African countries, including Nigeria, to train their teams who were heading for the World Cup but turned down the offers. At the end of the year Shehata came second to Ghana's Milovan Rajevac for the best African coach award. Shehata's coaching days may be numbered, depending on what Egypt does with South Africa next March in the qualifiers for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ahmed Shobeir THE SPORTS announcer and former goalkeeper failed to be re-elected to the People's Assembly while his ongoing dispute with former Zamalek Club president Mortada Mansour over slander culminated in Shobeir being prevented by law from hosting three TV sports shows on the private satellite station Al-Hayat. Mansour, also a former MP, had filed a suit against the channel claiming Shobeir had allegedly insulted him on air. Mansour won, after which the Administrative Court, an appeals court for cases involving the state, ordered the suspension of the sports shows. "I can host a new show in another station if I want," Shobeir had declared and, indeed, he is currently hosting a daily sports programme on Modern Kora station. Earlier, though, when Shobeir hosted a radio programme and a TV show on the OTV station, he was suspended by the minister of information from appearing on air in any channel belonging to state TV, whether terrestrial or satellite. His contract with OTV was scrapped. Samir Zaher THE HEAD of the Football Federation remained as is after a drawn-out Supreme Court victory. Osama Khalil, Zaher's chief rival in elections for the post held in December 2008, had objected to Zaher's win, claiming he was not eligible to run or remain in his position because he had been previously accused in other lawsuits of issuing bouncing checks. Khalil demanded a repeat of the elections in which he received not a single vote -- reportedly not even his own. With Zaher at the helm, Egypt won three successive Africa Cup of Nations championships, in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Nevertheless, Zaher will be stepping down as EFA president in 2011 because regulations won't allow him to remain in his post for a third successive stint.
