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 2011 EN BREF
#6
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
They Said:
Ramy Ashour:
"I’ll always shoot at the moon, that way, if I miss, I’ll
land on the stars…"
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PRESS ON
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ALISTER
WALKER, A QUIET REBEL
 Not
your typical young man, Ali...
Born and raised in Botswana, then English by choice, switching
back to his mother country a few months back.... He may wear
locks and look tough, but he goes to Church every Sunday and is
actually a very shy, polite and respectful young man.
I have to admit that I do like the boy, even if he nearly got be
expelled from Egypt a few years back.... Ask him to tell you the
story one day...
Let's see what he's got to say for himself, shall we?
|
 I
hear you are now living
in the States...?
Yes, I am still
living in and around NYC and thoroughly enjoying it.
Needless to say that New Yorkers are very different from your
average Brit there are many adjustments to be made but overall
Americans are extremely positive, optimistic and supportive
people.
I am fortunate to had met the lovely Odrich family in Greenwich
through coaching and they have been a fantastic support.
Do you go back to
Botswana often?
No.
Unfortunately getting back to Botswana has been just as scarce
as ever. It remote and hard to get to with know direct flights
from anywhere except a few other African capitals. North America
means the journey is even longer. I shall continue to visit once
a year.
Can't be easy...
Missing family
members has always been and will continue to be tough but at
least my sister Alison is still in London.
How is your career going?
After a poor 2010,
I have played much better in 2011 so far. Between now and
Christmas is the business end of the season and rankings are
often made and held.
If I get things right I feel I can be back challenging for the
top 10 spot I was so close to 18 months ago. As ever I shall
control what I can as best I can and leave the rest in fates
hands.
Now, let's talk about your change of Allegiance...
Leaving the England Squash performance programme and reinstating
my representation to Botswana that I had as a junior are two
totally different incidents.
I never saw them and one and the same thing and nor do I believe
they ever should be. A player should have the right to work in
partnership with a body without any bias when selection on merit
is concerned.
 I
left The Performance Programme because I did not
want to be
involved any longer after the sagas of 2010 and at the time
still intended to play for England.
Representing Botswana has changed very little in my day to day
life.
I am not receiving any financial support but feel it is right to
represent the land of my birth and the country in which I first
learned and fell in love with squash.
When did you leave
Botswana?
Well, I did
live there until I was 14. It is unfortunate that squash is not
in the same thriving position it was when I lived
there but I believe I can
make a difference on that front with some other people at home
who have the energy to make a positive change.
And I'm happy to say that the
press in Botswana have been even more supportive than they when
I played for England and even then they wrote very fondly.
 Your
feelings about being back in Manchester?
Shouldn't and won't bother me in the slightest being back in
Manchester!!!
Quite glad to
go back and not have to ever hit on the side courts actually!
Paul Walters has put on a good event and it continues to be the
biggest event not only in England but also Europe.
The only difference will be the flag next to the name. It's the
same Ali Walker.
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EN BREF
#5
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
CATCHING UP WITH GREG...
You've lived some amazing moments, but also some pretty down
ones. How did you manage to come back mentally and physically?
 I've
lived stunning moments during my career, my main goal was the World
number one.
The day I heard I achieved it was a great moment for me, but it was
too short for my taste! Still I lived it... |
Then, a big let down?
Yes, absolutely, like an aftershock
really. Then I seemed to be in a negative spiral, then depression.
It lasted around 6 months.
Then, pleasure to train came back after the June break, and my
squash came back slowly with a half season 2010, with only semis,
and one final in Hong Kong, and a few tournaments where it came
really close. |
Then, another bad injury
in Decembre 2011...?
 It
was against Shabana in the quarters of the Worlds in Saudi. I
started not too bad in the match... Another tough moment, as I just
came back to the top 4 on the 1st December. Forced to miss out of
three majors, I went down to top 6.
But the positive point was that I got good treatment, and I learned
a valuable lesson. With my team, we concluded that the injury was
the outcome of a too heavy schedule, tournaments, journeys, etc.
Plus, I really got the will and the envy of coming back to the top. |
What about pressure then...?
|
I don't feel any kind of pressure
anymore, as I'm now in an outsider position. |
Do you have the same
goals now...?
|
Well, I still want to reclaim the World
number 1 position, but this year, my principal aim is the World
Title in Rotterdam. |
What motivates you...?
|
Only the goals I've set up for myself. |
What is the most
important for you...?
|
Taking pleasure in what I do. |
Do you have role models,
inside or outside squash...?
|
Plenty, the list is too long to name
them all! But most important, I keep on learning, every moment, from
remarkable people, and it allows me to get to the next step, and the
next one. |
Your best and worst
moments...?
Best day? Probably the day I won the
British Open in 2007.
Worst? No contest my final against Palmer in 2006 in Cairo... |
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PRESS ON
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Simon:
No more Mister Nice Man... |
Cameron:
May the Force be with me... |
Chris:
Above the Tin, above the... |
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EN BREF
#4
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
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TAREK, SQUASH OR ENGINEERING??
 One
of those great kids coming through from Egypt. Tarek Momen,
23, has chosen to carry on very heavy studies while carry on
his squash career.
I met him during my first British Open Junior, and already there,
he impressed me with his perfect manners and movement to the
front (I think he is one of the fastest in that department...)
Now an Electronic Engineering graduate from the American
University in Cairo, he is a full time squash player, or he is... |
 Nice
to see you having a great tournament, Tarek.
My win against Alister was really important for me - I haven't
had a good result for five months now. It gave me my confidence
back and I hope it gives me a boost to do well and be consistent
for a change.
Squash or Ingineering?
Since getting my degree, I have found myself torn between
playing squash and following another career. But I tell myself I
should do the thing I love the best - and that's squash.
What do you expect from this year?
Well this year, I really want to get my ranking back up again
and break into the top 20 and in order to do that I have to
start getting through in the Super Series events.....Because
obviously aiming for the first round gets you nowhere.
 Which
tournaments are you intending to do this year?
Hopefully I'll play all the Platinum ones until december Qatar,
Hong kong, Kuwait, the World Open but I think I might skip the
Masters in India this year.
What is your best quality on the court?
My best quality I guess is my speed along with my short game at
the front (the same short game that could be my worst quality as
well)
What's your worst fault?
 My
worst fault is that I lose concentration a lot and I tend to
play lots of shots involving high risk hence, the inconsistency.
Where do you see yourself in the next 2 years?
In the next 2 years, I could be one of two things: hopefully a
top 10 player or a graduate student seeking my MBA. It all
depends on my results in the next few months or so... |
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EN BREF
#3
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
Marwan El Shorbagy,
Junior no more...
 Years
ago in Cairo, 2006 I think, a young boy approached me, and asked
if he could have a picture taken with me. He was small, so
skinny, adorable, and so shy.
WHAT HAPPENED???
Then we wrote to us at SquashSite, asking if he could report for
us. He was what, 13, 14? OK, Steve was working very hard to make
his English readable, but from that moment on, we never lost
sight of him.
He is now a world Champion, like his big brother Mohamed. Very
different from him, and yet so close. He is really a player from
the SquashSite Generation, and we are so proud of him. Soooo
proud... |
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WORLD JUNIOR TITLE...
 The
world juniors was a big dream for me to win it it’s something I
have been dreaming of since I was young. After winning it, it
gave me a huge push in my squash and even in my life generally.
I feel that I have no more pressure so I am enjoying my squash
and that’s the most important thing for me at the moment. I have
been training so hard in the summer and even before, dreaming
everyday of winning the world juniors like my brother did twice,
and obviously it gave me confident to do well in PSA.
AND NOW...
Now I finished School and going to University , I have been
working with the great Jonah Barrington and Ian Thomas
for 4 years but that doesn’t mean I will stop working with them.
They are the main reason for all these results I have been doing,
I will still go and train with them every weekend or maybe more.
I would like to thanks the school for giving such a huge support
for the past four years they have done so much for me. Jonah has
been working with me and improving my movement on court and he
gave me so much of his experience, he probably told me all his
squash stories and all his great matches that he did in his
entire career.
Also Ian Thomas, he’s not only a coach for me but he is also a
great friend that helps me with everything in my life and I love
taking his advice in everything I do.
And I would like to thank my parents obviously, they are with me
everywhere I go and they are always there whenever I need them...
MOHAMED, A
COMPETITOR??
No Fram, there’s no chance I will see my brother as a competitor
one day because he’s done so much for me and gave me all his
experience in squash and he’s been a great support for me in my
life.
ROLE MODELS?
For me I enjoy watching Shabana, he is a great guy on and
off the court and I really hope he stays on the circuit for many
more years and win few world championships. He is the best
example for me as a squash player and I would love to achieve at
least half that he has done which is not easy for anyone.
THE NEAR FUTURE...
I have been playing PSA for only 11 months and my ranking now is
65, my aim at the moment is just to improve my ranking every
month and learn the mistakes that I do every tournament and to
try and learn from the top players.
But in the next 12 months I am only looking forward to train
harder than I did before the world juniors and I don’t want to
put targets because that will put pressure on me so I just want
to enjoy it as I said before, and as long as I am training hard
I will be happy.
 BEST
MEMORY
SO FAR...
One of the best memories in my life so far was winning the
British Junior Open under 17, as I remember how hard I
trained before winning this title and I think this tournament
was the start for me.
Also playing the decider match in the world teams in quito
when we beat Pakistan in the final, And obviously winning the
world juniors the memories that I will never forget one day
in my life. (But I will look forward to win another one next
year)
AND BAD....
Worst squash memories for me was at the beginning of the year, I
wasn’t playing really well and I had a lack of confident, also I
have had a tough time in my life in general not only in squash,
everything was really complicated but I am glad that I got
through all these things and my life is all settled now and it’s
much better, I feel more relaxed.
WHO DO I FEAR THE MOST???
MY BROTHER definitely.
AND FINALLY...
I would love to see squash getting into the Olympics in 2020,
it’s the sport that it deserves its place in the Olympics and I
can see the WSF and the PSA are working really hard this time to
improve the sport. It was such a shame not getting in in 2016,
but we can’t give up. We have to put our hopes up that we can
get in this time.
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EN BREF
#2
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
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PRESS
ON...
Forget Murray,
we have great squash
Nick Matthew Squash Buckler
Desire to be leading man
drives Matthew
More on
NickMatthew.co.uk
 |
HISHAM'S
IN LOVE & STARTS COACHING....
Well, you didn't
really think this page was going to only be about serious
stuff
?? You should know me by now, squash is good, but people,
that's what we luuuuuuve....
 But
how to describe Hisham. He is a charmer, that's for sure.
He's can imitate anybody out there - just ask him to impersonate
for you Mick Todd his manager, in an Indian Cab far too small
for him, I still cry just thinking about it - and plays shots
that haven't been invented yet!!!
A lovely character, extremely close to his baby brother Ramy...
Watching one when the other one is on court is a show more
interesting than what's happening on court...
Tell me about your first ever
selection for
the World Teams....
 First,
I was sooo happy when I knew after coming
back
from Malaysia that I got selected to play but scared, as I wasn't
100 percent ready and it was like a 15 day notice.
I think we were a
strong team. Against
Germany, it
was very tough, and
Simon played the match of
his life. Also
with France in the semis,
we already lost
then came back
:) Remarkable
thing in this tournament:
Ramy
beating Greg 3/0
then Nick
3/0
to show that he deserves to be the world number
one... |
What is your goal for the coming months?
|
Well, I'm
getting ready now for all the upcoming tournaments.
I still believe I
have to be number 5 or 6 in the world,
so I'll still pushh
hardddddd and attack more... |
Attacking even more??? God
save the World of Squash...
Now, I hear Ramy and you have starting coaching?
 Yes,
it's
in the
Heliopolis
Club,
the new big on
in Sheruk
area,
it's
more of a resort,
this club. Our
website will be ready
soon...,.
The
Inspire
squash academy will be directly supervised by
Ramy and myself
every
day.
We're home,
we're
putting the best programs for professionals amateurs and beginners,
but also
international players. Our
academy director is Mr. Hatem
Hassan,
and we'll
be opening
on the 5th of October.
And I think we're
going to make something unique... |
And now, what is really what's important, tell me all
about your girlfriend...
|
Fraaaaaaam..... Her
name is
Farida
Bahgat
(Fero)
:). And guess what, I'm
getting engaged 4th
of November. |
You engaged??? You are breaking my heart...
 sorryyy
:))
She
is a Gemini like
me, she turns 24 on the 26th of
May.
We've known each
other for four
years now,
we've
been on and off,
but finally things got together,
and we're going to make
it happen
She
works in a company called Design
Coordinator.
She's
doing really well,
and I think if I get
married soon I
am going
to focus on my
squash specially that she encourages me soo much and she wants me in
top 5 soon.... |
And as
we say in French "ce que Femme veut"... "what a woman
wants, a woman gets"... |
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EN BREF
#1
Fram tells you
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the BGP ... |
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MAIL IT TO FRAM....
As I'm finishing a treatment for my knees and therefore
unable to attend the BGP, I've contacted the Players by mail,
and they were kind enough to answer a few questions... Not as
great as being with them on site, but that will do for now...
And we start today by Shabana & Bengy...
 Shabs,
well, we miss him badly, his dominance on the World Tour is
still in our memory. But he is not just a former number 1 player,
who won everyfreakingthing and more on the Tour. He is
such a witty smiling charmer, also one of the most honest and
fairest player on the circuit - you could set your behaviour
book by him.
And Beng Hee?
 Calls
himself ChinaMan, bless him. A lovely, talented, nice, caring
friend, and again, well behaved on court player.
I think I
saw him once getting annoyed at a ref: he did ask him to repeat
the decision... And that was the extent of it.
One of the most charismatic characters out there, not to mention
funny.... |
PRESS
ON...
The Star, UK
Associated Press of Pakistan
The Times of India |
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Shabana in 1996
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THE PRINCE OF CAIRO IS BACK...
Where are you??? are you
still in the US, or back in Egypt?
|
I am currently in Egypt, I have been
here since Ramadan, it's been the holy month for us, so I spent it
back home with my family finally after all those years for the first
time. |
Are you
going to stay in Egypt?
|
I am going to be between here and the
USA for the next while, well to be accurate I hope to be on tour and
drop in the USA and Egypt between events as much as I could! |
Physically, how do you feel?
|
I'm fine on a day to day basis, small
ouches here and there, but having been on tour for 17 years and
still able to play on world level is good enough for me! |
What are your goals for the next year?
|
My plan is to start getting a few wins
and see how far I can go. No pressure I achieved more than I ever
dreamed I could, so just want to enjoy myself in this stage of my
career and winning would is just a bonus. |
And last one:
Do you miss me??!!!
|
Don't miss you that much as I follow
your corner ever time ;) |
Thanks my Prince....
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Tournament in
La Réunion in 2007 |
'CHINAMAN' BENGY
Malaysia's Team has an excellent run in Paderborn, didn't they?
We were confident of a top 5 finish
when we saw our pool line up and we were hoping for Australia in the
last 8 because Azzy's done well against Palmer.
 And
Pilley for me, well I thought I had a chance since the pressure was
on them.
Though we got France, we were quietly confident at number 2 and 3
strings, but obviously, we got absolutely HAMMERED!! Thanks Lincou,
nice guy!!!! Hahahaha. |
Talk us
through the team...
At 4, a young man named Kamran Khan was
our rookie: an UGLY guy with lotsa vains on him due to being really
fit!! Has the potential to be good together with Ivan and "Crazyhorse"
Asyraf. YES, Crazyhorse, just ask PSA boys!...
 This
3 plus Nafizwan will be the future of 2020 team, when Azzy and I are
done!!
Hehe 2020, i'll be 40 and if I'm ever in the team, please shoot me!!
Obviously we have a very good programme for juniors but most of them
fazed out when they get to 18 because its difficult for them to get
money to be a fulltime. so thats always been the problem they rather
work as chef than play squash!! |
Many young
players coming through?
Obviously we have a very good programme
for juniors, but most of them fazed out when they get to 18 because
it's difficult for them to get money to be a fulltime.
So thats always been the problem, they rather work as chef than play
squash!! |
What did
you think about the World Teams Organisation in Germany?
|
I play for Paderborn and these guys run
it like business all professional, but at the same time its like a
family thing, so I know them well and really appreciate them.
The competition organisation was one of
the best, especially having Norman and Andreas there!! I believed we
need people like them to take squash in Germany to higher level... |
Are you
back in the UK?
 Yes
I'm back in Harrogate working with a secret coach, but last few
months when I was back home in Kuala Lumpur, I was working with
Jamshed Gul from pakistan.
Sparring wise, it's been Chris Simpson, John Kemp, Sidd, Aaron and
the helmet Campbell Grayson (he wears the coolest bicycle helmet)..
Nick is scared of me, bcoz we might play in Manchester if I get
through!! Haha normally we hit often! |
You had a
pretty horrific past months, the back, then two food poisonning....
How do you feel now?
I feel because the last 6-8 months has
been pretty bad, I'm now feeling healthier and hungrier, bcoz I
didn't win a match for 6 months, except beating Andrew Wagih in 5!!!
My secret coach told me to either hang up the boots or do something
drastic bcoz it's sad watching me on court and this was in January!!!
So for 6 months, I''d to do a lot of thinking, though I was still
competing and losing in every match!! And I decided that I'll give
it one last go for at least two years and actually ENJOY!
I decided I will give myself that chance to be the best i can (hopefully
top 8 even if its for 1 month) before i stop competing. |
Any lady
around Chinaman?
 Like
Beachill said, little bird told him that I've a bird back home now.
He's RIGHT(annoys me that COO of PSA Hahahaha) and I've been with
Winnie for a while now. Chinese looking too! Haha
Till our next breakfast Framm!! |
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