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Squash players make plea for Olympic recognition
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TOP ranked squash players want the sport to be a part of the Olympic Games.
“Squash players deserve more attention and recognition,” said French veteran Gregory Gaultier, who finished runner-up at 2016 squash China Open on Sunday.
The event was held in a transparent glass court on the roof of The Peninsula Shanghai.
“I hope the sport will join the Olympics someday, which will be a huge boost for it,” he said.
World No. 2 Gaultier was competing for the third straight year in Shanghai. He won the title last year but lost in straight sets, 0-3, to world No. 1 Mohamed El Shorbagy from Egypt in this year’s final.
El Shorbagy too echoed Gaultier’s views on the Olympics.
“It seems unfair that squash is not in (Olympics) as it has everything in it, like the TV coverage and the amount of players in it. Squash has very strong tours too. So I don’t think it’s about playing politics to introduce squash into Olympics. The sport has its quality,” the Egyptian said.
Egypt has been a traditional powerhouse in squash. Six of the world’s top 10 ranked male players and four top 10 ranked female players are from Egypt.
“We always had one or two great players in each generation that we can look up to and hope to become like them,” the 25-year-old El Shorbagy said. “I remember watching Ahmed Barada play when I grew up and always wanted to be like him. Maybe now I’m also inspiring some other younger players. It happens generation after generation.”
El Shorbagy said that in his native country, football was still the No. 1 sport with lot of support from the government. But he said squash probably deserves more.
“Having six players in the world’s top 10, I think that shows how successful our country has been in this sport.”
In the women’s final, world No. 2 Laura Massaro from England beat world No. 3 Raneem El Welily of Egypt in three straight sets. The 32-year-old Massaro described her performance in Shanghai the best since May.
Tournament director Franco Amadei said Shanghai event was a favorite of many players.
“China Open needed just three years to become one of the 10 best squash events,” the Italian said. “The sport has 100 years of history in the west but just 10 years in China. By organizing top level tournaments and promoting it in schools will create a market for China.”
China’s top woman squash player Li Dongjin agreed. “There is a huge gap between Chinese players and their foreign counterparts. For us, if we get more chances of attending tournaments abroad will help us to close the gap,” Li said.
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