El Gouna, April 5: In a thrilling match at the Professional squash Association (PSA) Platinum event held in El Gouna, Egypt, Indian player Abhay Singh triumphed over Egypt’s world number 13, Ali Abou El Enein, with a scoreline of 9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4, 11-8.
Abhay started the match on a challenging note, losing the first game 11-9. However, he made a strong comeback in the second game, securing an 11-8 victory to level the match. The momentum shifted rapidly during the match, with El Enein dominating the third game, taking advantage of several errors from Singh to win it 11-3.
Trailing 1-2, Abhay regained his form in the fourth game, delivering an aggressive performance to win 11-4, setting up a decisive final game. Despite falling behind 7-3 in the last game, Singh rallied back to stun El Enein.
Ranked 25th in the world, Abhay’s next challenge will be against Egypt’s sixth seed and world number 7, Yusuf Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, India’s Anahat Singh, ranked 20th globally, faced a tough defeat against world number 1, Hania El Hammamy of Egypt, in the women’s category. Anahat lost the match with scores of 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8.
The 18-year-old, who recently won the Indian Open Championship, started strong with an early lead of 7-5. However, top seed El Hammamy made a comeback, winning the first set 11-8 and dominating the second set 11-5.
In the third game, after leading 4-0, El Hammamy appeared to be in control, but Anahat showcased her skills, winning nine out of the next ten points to take the game 11-9. The fourth game proved challenging for Anahat, but the 2022 champion displayed resilience, ultimately losing the match after a hard-fought 49 minutes.