NASH Cup 2024 – NASH Family Wealth Management: Elsirty & Jeeva Win Epics on Dramatic Copper Debut

The first ever PSA Squash Tour Copper event began in style at the London Squash & Fitness Club, Canada, where Moustafa Elsirty and Sanjay Jeeva both staged remarkable comebacks in round one of the NASH Cup 2024 – NASH Family Wealth Management. 

Tom Walsh and Alexandra Haydon were the first two players to book their spots in round two, with Walsh being followed into the second day by his good friend and training partner Jeremias Azaña. 

Azaña had to do things the hard way, fighting back from two games down to force a decider against England’s Perry Malik, and then saving a match ball at 11-10 down before closing it out 14-12. 

Somewhat remarkably, the Argentine’s win was not even the most dramatic comeback of the day, with Jeeva fighting back from the brink against Matthew Lai a few minutes later over on court three.

The Malaysian took the opening game 11-7 but found himself on the back foot after losing the next two, only to shift the momentum back in his favour by dominating game four 11-1. 

That shift in momentum didn’t carry into game five, though, as Lai raced into a 7-3 lead and soon had five match balls at 10-5 up. 

But Jeeva kept his composure, showcasing his mix of trademark holds and athleticism around the court, reeling off six points in a row to bring up a match ball of his own. 

He then clinched victory in style, somehow reaching around his opponent to flick a backhand winner cross-court, turning to the crowd to let out a roar of emotion.

That wouldn’t be the last roar of emotion that the crowd would see on court three, as Elsirty rounded out the day with an epic comeback of his own. 

The former World No.22 was staring down the barrel of defeat against New Zealand’s Lwamba Chileshe, with the Kiwi showcasing exceptional discipline to take the first two games, while Elsirty’s error count climbed. 

But having saved a match ball at 2-0, 10-9 down, Elsirty slowly clawed his way back into the match, continuing to attack and take the ball early when he could. 

Game four was the most one-sided of the contest, with Elsirty dropping only four points, but Chileshe was determined not to go down without a fight, battling to the end of game five. 

He would ultimately come up agonisingly short, though, with Elsirty crunching a backhand kill at 10-9 up to end proceedings. 

That match brought to an end a day which also featured a breathtaking win for local favourite Salah Eltorgman. 

The young Canadian – a student at the University of Western Ontario in London – had a passionate and vocal fan club watching him on, creating a raucous atmosphere seldom seen on the PSA Tour. 

That support seemed to spur him on, and he left the court to cheers of ‘Ole’ having won the opening game. 

His opponent, Ben Smith, clinched a tight second game 12-10 but Salah returned the favour in game three, winning a tiebreak of his own by the same scoreline.

Once again, Smith responded well to send the match into a decider, which – true to form of the day – went right to the wire, as Eltorgman wrapped up victory 11-9, sending his fan club into raptures in the gallery.

The women’s draw, meanwhile, was more one-sided, with five of the eight matches finishing 3-0. 

There were, however, still two matches that went the distance, with Asia Harris and Nga Ching Cheng both having to come from behind to win. 

Harris overcame Singpaore’s Wai Yhann Au Yeong having lost games one and four, securing victory in somewhat unusual fashion at the end of game five, as her opponent ended up sprawled across the floor with one shoe missing on match ball. 

The ending to Cheng’s win over Lowri Roberts was far less unusual, but she was still made to earn a place in round two, having to overturn a 2-1 deficit despite winning game one. 

Round two begins at 3pm local time (8pm BST) on Tuesday, September 18^th, with action from both courts streaming live on the SQUASHTV Live Streaming YouTube channel. 

Results: Men’s Round 1 
Tom Walsh (ENG) bt Brett Schille (CAN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (28m) 
Jeremias Azaña (ARG) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 3-2: 3-11, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11, 14-12 (66m) 
Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) bt Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-1, 12-10 (60m) 
Salah Eltorgman (CAN) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9 (64m) 
Kareem El Torkey (EGY) bt Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-2: 11-7, 5-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-4 (49m) 
Joseph White (AUS) bt Taylor Carrick (BER) 3-0:11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (31m) 
Finnlay Withington (ENG) bt Diego Gobbi (BRA) 3-1: 13-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4 (42m) 
Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) bt Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-2: Scores: 10-12, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (74m) 

Results: Women’s Round 1 
Alex Haydon (AUS) bt Elise Romba (FRA) 3-1: 4-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (29m) 
Catalina Pelaez (COL) bt Iman Shaheen (CAN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (22m) 
Marta Dominguez (ESP) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (25m) 
Asia Harris (ENG) bt Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) 3-2: 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 (52m) 
Caroline Fouts (USA) bt Amal Izhar (CAN) 3-0: 11-3, 13-11, 11-7 (22m) 
Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt Lowri Roberts (WAL) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6 (42m) 
Saran Nghiem (ENG) bt Alison Thomson (SCO) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-7 (30m) 
Nour Heikal (EGY) bt Sofía Mateos (ESP) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (19m)