AFZAL JAVED
ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: Egyptian pair of Moustafa El Sirty and Salma El Tayeb thrashed their opponents to clinch the titles in the Serena Hotels Chief of Air Staff International Squash Tournament for Men and Serena Hotels-Combaxx Sports International Women Squash Tournament here at Mushaf Squash Complex on Friday.Â
Chief of Air Staff and Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) President Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. He witnessed the final along with PSF’s Senior Vice President Air Marshal Amir Masood, CEO Serena Hotels Aziz Bolani, Combaxx Sports CEO Umar Saeed, Senior Manager Corporate Marketing and Communications Hussain Odhwani, Secretary General Wing Commander Armghan Aziz and other dignitaries.
In the men’s final, 19-year-old El Sirty proved too strong for Auguste Dussourd and won 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10.The Egyptian did not allow his French opponent to take control after losing a close first game. El Sirty displayed his wonderful skills and played aggressively to take the next two games with relative ease. Dussourd fought back in the fourth game and at one stage was leading 8-5.
However, the Frenchman lost two easy points and gave some space to El Sirty, who levelled the scores at 10-10. He continued to play well and took the game 12-10 to become the men’s champion. In the women’s decider, emerging player Salma El Tayeb showcased one of her best games against world No 69 Marie Stephan from France.
The 17-year-old Egyptian dominated throughout the final to win 11-6, 12-10, 11-4. As many as 22 foreign players from nine countries participated in both the tournaments, which were organised by Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in collaboration with Pakistan Air Force, Serena Hotels and Combaxx Sports.
