England's Jenny Duncalf beat Egypt's Omnia Abdel-Qawi to claim the Women's International Soho Square Squash Championship in Sharm El-Sheikh, Inas Mazhar reports From the beginning, everybody thought Egyptian champion Omnia Abdel-Qawi would win the final and claim the trophy and the prize money. Abdel-Qawi had made a very impressive start, playing with confidence in the glass court erected in the centre of the newly built Soho Square at the Savoy Hotel in Sharm El-Sheikh. There was a high spectator turn- out in the final as locals and foreigners were keen to support the two champions who presented a thrilling and world-class match which kept fans on their toes until the last point. The 23-year-old Abdel-Qawi, the world No 8, in no time won the first two games of the best-of-five match 2/11 and 7/11. The English world number six Jenny Duncalf was nervous in the first two games knowing that she had a 1-10 losing record to her opponent who is dubbed by the international world of squash "Queen of the Nile" and who was now playing at home. But receiving instructions from her coach, Duncalf regained her composure in the next three games to sweep her Egyptian prodigy 11/8, 12/10 and 12/10. Abdel-Qawi struggled against the quick Duncalf who played speedy ball. Abdel-Qawi was sweating and before the fourth game was forced to change her shirt. She did better but still lost 10/12. The final game was the last hope for the Egyptian who the crowd supported crazily. Still, she was 1-7 down in the last game, but when everybody started losing hope, she won seven consecutive points to lead 8-7. Leading 10-9 and playing for match ball, Abdel-Qawi produced two unforced errors which gave the English the hand-out and then the match. Duncalf said she was down at the beginning when she came up against an energetic opponent who played so well in the first two games. "It was a tough game and Omnia was not easy and so persistent to win. But I wanted to just go deeper into the game. I did my best and won the match even though the last two points in the match were crucial. It feels great to win that match and the tournament as well." Abdel-Qawi was disappointed but smiled, saying she lost her focus in the end, making two costly mistakes. "I don't know what happened. After winning the first two games, I thought I would win the third and then the title. But I was very tired in the third game and felt I couldn't move. Can't say what happened. "She recovered and I couldn't catch her. "Now, I'm looking forward to the Qatar Open in two weeks. Soho is over and I'll be training hard to win in Qatar," Abdel-Qawi told Al-Ahram Weekly. The inaugural $42,000 Soho Square Women's International Championship was truly a tournament for the top seeds as the last top four made it to the semi-finals. All players agreed they enjoyed playing in such a fabulous atmosphere with the dancing fountain as the background of the glass court, and cafes, restaurants and recreational activities taking place around the venue. The champion and runner-up received their prizes from Governor of South Sinai Mohamed Hani Metwalli and Emad Aziz, owner of the Savoy Hotel, the host of the event. Mamdouh El-Sheshtawi, area marketing director of Savoy Hotels worldwide, said the hotel plans to host the second event next year and increase prize money to $60,000 to attract the world's superstars and become the richest in the tour as owner Emad Aziz hopes. Generally, the Egyptian women did well in the tournament, appearing in all but one of the quarter-finals. Third seed Abdel-Qawi led local interest in the event after beating Ireland's Aisling Blake 14-12, 11-4, 11-6. The only quarter-final without local interest was an all-English tussle between Duncalf and No 7 seed Lauren Briggs. Duncalf needed only 26 minutes to overcome 13-year-old Egyptian qualifier Nour El Sherbini - the sport's youngest ever world champion - 11-5, 11-1, 11-6. Only the Egyptian top seed and third in the tournament Abdel-Qawi made it to the semis. "It's such a great result and progress for our Egyptian girls," said tournament director Ahmed Said. "It's a great opportunity for them to meet with the world's best and play against them in a tough match. The Soho Square tournament was the chance for them to practice for their coming events. They gained a lot from being here."
