SINGAPORE – While they were on their honeymoon in Los Angeles in 2016, squash’s Egyptian power couple Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb intentionally set aside some time to catch the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.
Squash was not part of the Olympic roster back then, but it will make its debut at the quadrennial competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, an exciting development for the duo and the rest of the fraternity.
While world No. 1 and four-time world champion Farag is unsure about whether he will still be playing in five years, he believes that the sport’s inclusion only bodes well for squash.
Farag, 31, said: “It’s a very long time for our sport to get included in the world’s most elite stage in the world of sport, I think we really deserve it.
“It’s really exciting but on a personal note it’s too early to plan, especially from a very competitive nation, to be up there at the age of 35, 36, I don’t know. But for squash, it’s quite exciting and it’s good to see more and more nations getting involved.”
The Egyptian was speaking at a press conference at the Orchard Hotel on Monday, ahead of the Vitagen Singapore Squash Open which begins on Tuesday.
Held at the OCBC Arena, the US$225,000 (S$306,000) Professional Squash Association World Tour Gold event boasts a star-studded field that includes Farag, Peruvian world No. 2 Diego Elias and third-ranked defending champion Mohamed El Shorbagy.
The women’s draw is led by 2022 runner-up El Tayeb, the world No. 6, while the Republic will have two wild cards in Marcus Phua and Au Yeong Wai Yhann.
After the sport’s unsuccessful attempts to be part of the last four Olympics, the International Olympic Committee in October approved squash’s admittance to LA, where two events – the men’s and women’s singles – will be contested.
New Zealand’s world No. 4 Paul Coll, 31, too believes the milestone will boost squash’s popularity worldwide.
The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who had earlier stated his intention of playing in LA, said: “It’s such a huge platform that will really help grow our sport within our home countries and also countries that are not so involved at the moment... that’s why we’ve been so desperate to get into it for so many years.”
Belgium’s seventh-ranked Nele Gilis agreed, adding: “I’ve already seen a huge boost on TV and hopefully it’ll give it the financial boost it deserves as well.”
Another player eyeing the LA Games is England’s El Shorbagy, who in October broke the record for the most consecutive weeks spent inside the top 10.
The 32-year-old said: “I’ll be lying if I don’t have it at the back of my mind. It’s very important to stay healthy and keep free of injury and that’s the kind of secret of how I stay in the top 10.
“The consistency doesn’t always come from training hard, training clever, training smart, but also taking care of my body and I’m very proud to have achieved this.”
An interesting side note this week in Singapore is a possible clash in the quarter-finals between El Shorbagy and younger brother Marwan.
World No. 8 Marwan, 30, is relishing the prospect, adding: “In the past, I used to hate it so much because I would be trying to beat my older brother who’s done so much for me in my life.
“But now I actually miss playing him because I know we’re not young any more and we have only six, seven years left so I want to try and make the most of it and just being on court with him.”
