Why does Egypt absolutely crush when it comes to squash? The dominance of Egyptian players dates back to squash’s earliest days as an internationally competitive sport. After being invented at a British prep school in the 19th century, the sport spread throughout the empire, including to Egypt. Until this very moment, Egypt dominates the game with its top players; from Mohamed El-Shourbagy to Ramy Ashour, Nour El-Sherbini, Raniem El-Welily and more. But we’re not here to talk about the players, we’re here to talk about someone else, someone who, literally, revolutionized squash and took it, along with Egypt, to the next level. That person is Amr Mansi.
Mansi was a professional Egyptian squash player who ranked 50th worldwide up until 2009. Mansi always had love for the sport, and him quitting it meant in no way that he would stop doing so. He had a dream of making Egypt the number one destination for squash, and he succeeded. In 2010, he founded El Gouna International Tournament which ended up being one of the world’s biggest squash events, but he didn’t stop there. He wanted more. In an effort too boost Egypt’s tourism and get squash even bigger, he had his mind set on boosting Egypt’s tourism and reviving Al-Ahram Squash Open, yes, the very tournament by the Giza pyramids that ended 10 years ago and was never brought back to life.
“I’m still in awe of what we finally achieved. It still feels so surreal. I am happy that we were able to bring Al-Ahram Squash Open back and have the chance to showcase our beautiful country and how it’s a must-fly destination for international squash players,” Mansi tells us. “It required a lot of trust, dedication, to finally revive the tournament. Countless days were spent negotiating with the PSA (Professional Squash Association) and others to make it happen, but we did it at last.”
Al-Ahram Squash Open have already begun, with a total of 56 players from 13 countries competing for the $200,000 in prize money.
WE SAID THIS: You can get your tickets for the tournament by clicking here.