No brotherly love for Egyptian squash star Mohamed Elshorbagy

Arab News

LONDON: Mohamed Elshorbagy admitted he had to overcome mixed emotions to win the squash world title by beating his brother Marwan 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 late on Sunday in the first ever final between brothers.
Mohamed had twice lost world finals by the narrowest of margins to fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour, but he was not prepared for an even harder opponent — the younger sibling with whom he has been competing since they were both old enough to walk.
"I was in shock when Marwan won his match (on Saturday),” Mohamed admitted.
"I was lying in bed for hours thinking I have to beat my brother to win the world title. It was not a nice feeling at all."
It was a contest of sensational hitting, breath-taking movement, and obvious emotion between two men who could often guess what the other might do.
Mohamed, twice a British Open winner, led by a game and 9-7 but was pegged back, while Marwan went 6-4 up in the decider but could get no closer to the finish line.
It ended in a flurry of lets and penalty points as both men tired, with Marwan starting to miss with his short game in the last few points.
It may have been Marwan's later schedule the previous night and subsequent shorter recovery time which eventually made a difference.
The end came with a ferocious cross court forehand winner from Mohamed, after which Marwan responded by applauding Mohamed for his achievement.
Mohamed tried to soften the blow by lifting Marwan's arm as the crowd clapped, and there followed a very long hug between the brothers.
“I waited a long time for this moment and it was such a hard feeling," said Mohamed.
"It is something we must share for the rest of our lives, although maybe both of us will not enjoy it.”
“At the end we congratulated each other. It was my time today, with this title you have to be patient and it will come for him. I’ve won everything in the sport now, but I still have much more to achieve and more titles to win.”
Earlier, Raneem El-Welily ended a three-year wait for atonement having lost the 2014 final when she won the women's world title by upsetting her Egyptian compatriot Nour El-Sherbini 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5.
“She was under more pressure than me today,” said El-Welily.
“I felt so different today compared to the last World Championship final. That one was a nightmare, today I was so much more relaxed.
“So much has changed since 2014. The game has changed, I have changed, the sport is different from then. We're all adapting and improving. I hope I can keep the same attitude for the remainder of the season. From this moment to the next event I don't know what will happen, but I know I don't want to stop with just this one success.”