Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 3-0 Omar Mosaad (Egy) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (32m)
The score tells you the story. Close but not close enough for Omar to take Karim out of his comfort zone. Still, the Hammer wanted to expose the movement of the BabyFaced Assasin, and that led to some gorgeous fast rallies, ending with an incredible winner.
Omar didn’t do much wrong but the ability from Karim to link the attacks put his opponent always on the backfoot. Nice, so nice to have him back…
Former World Champion & World No.1 @karimabdelgawad is back and is hoping to be back at the top very soon 👀
He overcame compatriot Omar Mosaad to reach RD2 of the @OPTASIAsquash to take on World No.2 Diego Elias 🔥🔥🔥#OptasiaChamps pic.twitter.com/A94ARY7ljN
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 21, 2023
Omar
When you put a good training in, I can’t say I’m expecting to play well, but I’m hoping to play at my best. And that brings a lot of pressure. And when you play against someone like Karim, you’ve got to show up with your A game.
So sometimes, I was playing well, but then I would get a bit nervous and would start making silly errors and you can’t find your winning shots.
I’m still fighting, because I still believe I can do things I haven’t done yet. I feel that I have still a lot to achieve, a lot to give to the sport. Even if I’m turning 35, I still want to find new things to do, things that no one has done before.
Maybe I can do it again, reaching the top 20, top 10, maybe I can’t. But I am doing my best, I am trying to enjoy at the same time I am trying to give it everything I have to win.
You know, the game has changed so you have to reinvent yourself all the time, your mentality, your squash. I am using all the weapons I have, looking at all the small details to find my power and best form again…
Karim
“We have had some tough matches before; he is moving well. He is such a great player, and a great person outside the court too. I am looking forward for more tough battles against him.
“It was really hard, of course. For the ten months I was out, I was thinking positively. I was working a lot on my mental side, I worked again on how to be hungry for winning and playing tournaments,” the 2016 World Champion said.
“It was positive for me. For sure, there was a lot of depression and low points during that ten months. But four months were spent working on my fitness, my upper body and my core. Even if I couldn’t do any lower body stuff.. I tried as much as possible not to sit around depressed.
“I am glad that I worked a lot on my mental side and physical side for the six weeks before coming back and I am glad I managed to come through today.
