El Sherbini Dreaming of World Champs Glory
 In-form
Egyptian World #2 Nour El Sherbini is relishing the
prospect of competing in the upcoming PSA Women’s World
Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - and insists she is a
different person to the one who lost out in the final two years
ago in the same country.
The Alexandria native became the youngest ever World Champs
finalist in 2014 in Penang where a stunning run saw her take out
a quartet of seeded players, including home hero Nicol David,
and going up against current World #1 Laura Massaro in the
final, which the Englishwoman won 11-9 in the fifth.
El Sherbini credits that defeat as something of a watershed
moment in her career, as she soon surged to the upper echelons
of the game, culminating with a historic victory at last month’s
British Open which saw her become the first female Egyptian
winner and the second youngest winner of the prestigious
tournament at the age of just 20.
 "I
feel a lot of things changed since Penang.
"I was always told that I played well but I didn't manage to
close the match and win so I was frustrated.
"But now I feel that I went through a lot of situations in that
glass court that changed me as a person in general and not just
as a squash player. Hopefully, I will keep going the same way."
full coverage of the 2014 champs in Penang
 El
Sherbini has established herself as one of the world’s leading
players, with a first World Series title at the Tournament of
Champions in January, and her sensational season has also
catapulted her into reckoning for top spot in the World Rankings
if results go her way.
But David, eight-time world champion and world number one for
nine years until last September, could stand in El Sherbini’s
way with the duo seeded to face off in the quarter-finals.
El Sherbini has won their last four meetings, most recently in
the British Open, but is wary of the threat that David, who will
be backed by a partisan home crowd, poses to her dream of
becoming the winner of the most lucrative Women’s Worlds of all
time.
 "Beating
any player even 100 times doesn't count in squash.
"I will just go in there giving each match 100 per cent
concentration and sticking to my game plan.
"Nicol is a legend and will always be a legend so playing her
anytime is never easy, no matter the result, and I am looking
forward to a great match if we both make it to play each other.
"Winning the British Open was certainly a great boost to my
career as I was always dreaming of winning a big title, that’s
what any player dreams of.
 "But
the World Championship is something different and I will be
going there as if nothing happened. I will be going there as if
nothing happened and I am starting again from the beginning,
match by match.
"Becoming the World Champion would mean everything to me, it's
what I dream of all the time. I will give it everything, for
myself, my parents, my team, my club and my country, Egypt."
El Sherbini starts against Australia’s Donna
Urquhart, with a fixture against either Dipika Pallikal or Annie
Au to follow if she wins.
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PSA Women's World Champs 2015(16)
