Pakistan number one Aamir Atlas suffered a shock 3-1 defeat against unseeded Marwan El Shorbagy in the quarter-finals of the $25,000 Sportsmax Open Squash Championship underway in Cairo.
Third-seed Atlas was thrashed in just 42 minutes by Shorbagy, the local player who was recently crowned world junior champion. The world number 28 from Peshawar, who travelled for the event following his loss in the final of the Malaysian Open, showed clear signs of tiredness and lost the opening game 11-6.
The Egyptian, ranked 94th in the world, was made to fight by Atlas as the Pakistani won the second game 5-11 before the 18-year-old from Alexandria sealed the result with a convincing 11-7, 11-5 win in the following games.
Atlas blamed fatigue for the loss but praised his opponent for putting up a good show.
“It was a good game,” said Atlas after his loss. “Marwan is improving fast and he totally outclassed me. I arrived after a long flight from Kuala Lumpur on the day of my first-round match and I was tired.”
Meanwhile, Shorbagy termed the win over his higher-ranked opponent as a great achievement.
“I’m really so happy with the result,” said Shorbagy. “I’ll remember this match for the rest of my life since it’s the first time I’ve beaten someone ranked in the top 30.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.
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