Semi-Final Report: Gohar v El Hammamy
Hania El Hammamy is into the final of the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic after overcoming Nouran Gohar in the latest instalment in their long running rivalry.
In a one-sided opener, El Hammamy stormed into the lead, taking advantage of Gohar’s conservative T-positioning to win game one 11-4.
Gohar came into game two fired up and aggressive, pushing up the court far more in game one.
Despite the improvement, the former World No.1 found herself four game balls down as El Hammamy pushed on.
‘The Terminator’, though, gave nothing away, scrapping for every point as she saved all four game balls to force a tie break.
Despite the swing in momentum, El Hammamy gathered herself well in the tie break, hitting her targets to take the next two points as the World No.2 doubled her lead.
Gohar’s late surge in game two seemed to give the No.3 seed confidence as Gohar fired back at her rival, outgunning her compatriot to take game three 11-7.
El Hammamy, however, regathered her composure, rediscovering her accuracy to win the last game 11-6.
After her match, El Hammamy said:
“I’m definitely very happy with my performance today. The crowd is definitely hyping me up as well. They’re amazing, I’ve been watching them since Nele and Siva’s match and they were amazing. I was hoping to have that quality cheering during my match and they didn’t disappoint. They definitely gave me hype and gives me memories of my first win against Gohar in the British Open couple of years ago.
“It was a bit similar tonight and I’m really happy to get through.
“[Coach Laura Massaro] just kept reminding me to get back to the tactics. We were trying to execute from the first point and I’m very lucky to have her between my games today. She made me focus point by point and that made a huge difference today.”
Result: : [2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6 (62m)
The finals of the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic take place tomorrow, 01 April, at Alexandra Palace. Action will be streamed live on SQUASHTV and partner channels from 15:00 (GMT+1).
For more information on the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also keep track of all of the live scores from the event by clicking here.