Framboise meets up in Doha ...
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Challenge PORTRAITS Framboise meets up in Doha ... |
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“OUT OF THE TOP DRAWER”… It’s with those words that Robert Edwards described his long time friend Hisham Algosaibi to me. “He and his family have been close friends for many years,” he added… And now I’ve met the man, I’m not surprised. I’m not easily impressed you know. The last time I was that impressed by somebody was with Arif Mehmood Siddique, the DG of Sports in Islamabad. What an aura Hisham has… What a personality… How clever… How calm… |
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 First of all, he is very tall, and his physical strength is quite obvious.
You meet him, and you feel small, very small. Then, he starts speaking to
you, and straight out, he tells you that he has had an up and down relationship
with press people. Ah. Good start… Better behave myself then…Then he tells you about that star who didn’t want to follow the rules, and that he didn’t buy it… For him, everybody is to follow the rules, whatever shape, colour, nationality, religion… Don’t expect favoured treatment because of who you are, or who you know… I like that… A no-nonsense man… |
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And then his voice softens… His voice softens when he speaks about his passion for the game… for his immense respect for the squash players who are exceptional athletes paid peanuts compared to the tennis players, how he wants to make them feel welcome, how he insists Doha reserves VIP treatment for them… His voice softens when he talks about Deborah, his wife, of English origin, but who lived for years in Ceylon, who he met through squash, and with whom he has three adorable children, Loulou, 8, Sarah, 7, Ibrahim, 4. Yes, adorable, I’ve seen the pictures… |
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He then talks about his involvement in Qatar Squash Federation since '92,
how between his work as a civil engineer and his role as the Secretary
General of QSF, he didn’t have any time left for his family and had to
make a choice. How he knew that he could step down because Khalid Al
Obaidly was perfect to take over. How important also it was that he would leave the way for other people to make their mark in QSF, that staying too long could have a nasty air of dictatorship, that it was important to infuse new blood into QSF… |
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We talk about everything, about the remarkable extension of the Squash
Centre where the tournament is taking place, which is about to start as
soon as this event ends: after transformation, the new facilities will
comprise of 9 courts, one permanent brand new glass court, 4 exhibition
courts, 4 practice courts, a players lounge exclusively for the athletes,
a “sanctuary”, just for them, no press, no public, where they will have
access to the internet, showers, rest room; a media room, a VIP room, etc…
The work should last for 14 months, which means that the next Qatar Classic will be transferred to another location for just one year… |
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We go on talking about his experience, about the first time he came to see
the British Open in '92, about the tournaments he has organised, about
life, religion, politics… “Sorry, sir, but we are closing”, says the headwaiter in the Ramada Hotel, a little embarrassed… No wonder… It’s late… We’ve both got work to do… I’m walking up to my room, my notebooks under my arm. I know I won’t need my notes to write this portrait. You do not write from notes after such a meeting... You just.... write. |
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MIKE COLLINS: ALL THE WAY FROM
SOUTH AFRICA… After Tony Parker, English World Referee, and several English Referees like John Mazzarella, Peter Kramer, Jill Wood and Peter Blackmore, Graham Waters, Canadian World Referee, let’s discover Michael Collins, an International Referee, a Commercial Property Lawyer by profession, who came all the way from South Africa to help and work on this event… |
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“I started to play squash at the beginning of the 80s, at University. Soon
I became a local referee, in 85, and was lucky enough to get some
experience at an international level in 92, during the Men’s Worlds in
Johannesburg, and the Ladies' same event in 93. That was my first exposure
to international refereeing, and I found it fascinating. “Then, I was very lucky as Malaysia was building up to the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, and organised several events to which they invited me, in 96, 97 like the World Championship and the World Men’s Team. I had the great chance to be invited to the Commonwealth Games 98, and that was a fantastic experience. That event allowed me to have the exposure and the number of matches I needed. “At that time, in order to encourage people like me to get onto the International scene, the WSF had created a “Regional Referee Status” that was just below International. So in 98 I became a Regional, and in 2000, I finally reached the International level. “Since then I participated in several international events, the Men’s Team in Cairo, Hurghada for the Grand Prix Finals, Men & Women, and I also had the fantastic opportunity to referee at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002. “Squash is a fantastic game, I found. I practice several sports, like Tennis or Golf for example, but I love the physical demands and challenge that squash has to offer. “Thanks to refereeing, I’m exposed to the top squash level, and I consider it a privilege to operate among and to watch the top players. You get to learn about the real world of squash, about what happens behind the scenes. “My satisfaction comes from the knowledge that the result of a match I refereed is the true outcome of the match. I’m also contented when I feel that I gave a good account of myself. “What don’t I like about refereeing? Not much I think! Sometimes, there is a lot of pressure put on you, but I feel it’s all part of the job of an international referee, and you’ve got to be able to deal with that. “At the end of the day, refereeing allows me to be part of the passion that sport can emulate in players, spectators, all sorts of participants, and I find that an extremely enjoyable experience…” |
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HONG KONG NO NONSENSE… Tony Choi is a very discrete and shy person. He used to play squash on the International Circuit between 1985 and 1990. He retired as Hong Kong was adding twelve “Focus Sports”, including Squash, on its list of Top Sports. He was then proposed an exciting job as the Director of Coaching for Hong Kong Squash. And that’s the role he has been holding ever since… |
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 “When I coach
my players, I try and see them as different individuals, and work towards
their specificity. For example, if you take Rebecca Chiu’s body, she
doesn’t have a European type of body. She is much smaller, she cannot hit
the ball as hard as some Europeans, so we try to adapt to what she can do,
and develop her own style, a “Hong Kong” style."We Asians do seem to enjoy small ball racquet sports, like squash, badminton or table tennis. We are less comfortable in Basketball for example… "I think that training athletes is a question of mixing different elements, and once again, being aware of each player’s strength. You’ve got to define priorities. For example, Rebecca will always need to work on her strength, she needs to keep her fitness and work on the physical side. Some other players may need more racquet work. Or an older player may need to maintain his physical level without pushing too much because of the real threat of injuries…Once again, you need to define priorities…  "We are really
proud of Hong Kong results in the past few years, like Rebecca’s Gold
Medals in the last Asian Games. Of course, I feel that she has improved
immensely by immersing herself into the World Circuit. That gave her a lot
of experience, as even if we did send her as she was still perfecting her
skills, nothing replaces all that input you get from playing with so many
talented players day in day out."We have younger players that hopefully should be on the circuit very soon, like Annie Au, Joey Chan, Chiu Ka Kie, Leo Au, Dick Lau… We hope that our girls will perform well in the next World Junior Championships in July in Belgium. We've never won any medals in those events, and we hope that this year, we’ll be on the podium… Actually, my dream would be to see Squash in the Olympics, and to take a player to the Olympic Games … "Squash is my passion, squash was and is my life, squash is my career. I’ve been playing squash since I was 8 years old. People are so friendly, and the game is so exciting. "Also, there are so many elements to be assessed. I like the fact that, whatever your physical appearance or strength, you can play squash. It allows different people to have a fair chance. Yes, I like squash because it’s a great leveller, because it’s a “fair” game…" |
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GAMAL: FOREVER
QATAR SQUASH…  “Say hello to a few friends for me in Doha”, said Robert Edwards in his
last email. And he listed a few names, with, as the pro & friend he is, a
few notes, to help me out in discovering yet another new squash loving country.Among those names figured Gamal Rasmi, Technical Secretary of QSF, who is in charge of so many things in Qatar… |
 A JAHANGIR TALE… You must know my complete admiration for The Man, The Legend, Mr Jahangir Khan. So, when I heard this one, I couldn’t resist… First, Robert’s tale… “Gamal came to see me a couple of years ago during the Classic and said that he had a problem. He had arranged a friendly hit with Jahangir on the glasscourt later that day. He did not know what to do. To play the great man was an honour and yet he felt that IF he beat him badly it would embarrass JK. "What shall I do Robert"? Smiling to myself, I said "Easy, play your heart out against him - anything less would be disrespectful." He left with a smile on his face to prepare for the match.  Without him knowing, I slipped off to see Jk and told him about the
story... We had a little giggle to ourselves and I rushed off to get my
seat and referee the match for them.Five minutes after I said "Love All" it was all over. Gamal was blown away by his hero 9/0. Like the little gentleman that he is Gamal laughed as much as the group of us watching.  That week I became JK's manager and we went on to turn over Johnny
Williams from Australia and then finally Chris Walker in a catch match.Lot's of laughs - and I can tell you JK still hits a great ball - especially short on his backhand. Like a boxer you never lose your punch. Ask Gamal!!!!
But he just beat us 3/0, the three of us, one after the other. |
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A TRUE PASSIONATE… I know I know, I repeat myself, well, get used to it. One of the great advantages of travelling around with the players, is that you discover new faces. And it was a great pleasure to meet Gamal Rasmi, I must admit (Thanks for the tip Robert). “I started as a player, and just fell in love with the game, all those years ago”, smiles Gamal. “When I retired as a player, I was so passionate, so in love with the sport, that I wanted to find a way of promoting it. So I learnt as much as I could about it, I took referee courses, then coaching courses, I just wanted to learn and learn. “I then became head coach in Egypt, in two clubs, the El Sayed (Shooting Club), and the Al Tawfikeya Club. Then I moved to Doha, and for years and years, I’ve been working in the heart of QSF to promote Qatari Squash within the country and all around the world.  “I’ve got several duties. Firstly, I’m in charge of all contact and correspondence between Qatar QSF and the rest of the Squash World, like WSF, PSA, WISPA, with event organisations like the Asian Games, etc. “I work on the technical side of international events like this one, the Classic, but also small events, local events. I make sure that a good connection is established with the local and international press, that the events QSF organe receive an excellent coverage all over the world.  “I used to be in charge of the development of squash in Qatar, but we
have now a new technical expert for the National Team, Alladin Allouba,
who is now in charge of that aspect, and works closely with the young
players…“Thanks to the wisdom and guidance of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and his son Sheikh Tamin Bin Hamad, Qatar is living through a Golden Time, a wonderful era, where everything, politics, economy, sports, everything is looking up. Our country has been investing in all sports, and in squash in particular.  “We have become one of the best countries in the world as far as organising
tournaments is concerned. To start with, we start to work on the technical
side of an event way before it starts, normally up to two months before,
which means that two weeks before, I can relax, knowing that everything is
ready, that all has been done.“I make sure that transportation, visas for the guests is perfectly organised, PR, the order of play for the tournament, Timing, information sheets, all is in order, I contact the hotels, make sure that we get the best rates, etc… All the “little details” that make a tournament a success, or a failure… “This country is focusing on the future, and that’s why we are encouraging so many kids to come and play squash. At the moment, we don’t have any top players, but in 5/6 years, we’ll have some athletes coming through on the international scene. “We also encourage the youngsters to come and see the event. That way, they can get in contact with the outside word, it’s a perfect way to communicate with other countries. Squash is such a great way to learn about life, now, isn’t it?”  And Gamal was talking, and I was listening, and suddenly, Andrew Shelley
reappeared in the office: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the play is about to start, and Gamal, you are supposed to referee a match, and you Framboise, shouldn’t you be watching???” Time had flown, and chatting away with Gamal, we just forgot there was a tournament going on…. Oups… Sorry Andrew ... |
“We were three of us,
Amjed Iqbal (now coach at the venue and in several
places in Qatar), Umar Zaman ,
(brother of the legendary Qamar Zaman, uncle of Shahid and Mansoor Zaman),
who thought that maybe, now that time had past, we could maybe take our
revenge at last, and beat Jahangir…