Hong Kong Squash Open Finals: Preview, Stats & How to Watch Live

The finals of the Everbright Securities International Hong Kong Squash Open take place today, with action beginning at 16:00 (GMT+8) at the Hong Kong Park Sports Center, as the last Platinum winners of 2022 will be crowned.

The women’s final will see Hania El Hammamy and Nour El Sherbini will do battle for the sixth time this year, before Peru’s Diego Elias and Egypt’s Mostafa Asal take each other on for the second time in three weeks.

You can catch all the action live from the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre on SQUASHTV. You can also keep up with the live scores from the event here.

Here’s the Order of Play
(All times are local – GMT+8)

Hania El Hammamy v Nour El Sherbini

The first match on finals day will see Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy and Nour El Sherbini, two of the world’s top three, do battle for a sixth time in 2022.

Overall, the pair have met twelve times previously on Tour, with El Sherbini holding a slender 7-5 advantage. The ‘Warrior Princess’ has also won the last two finals between the duo, including coming back from 2-1 down to win in five at the Grasshopper Cup just six weeks ago, their most recent meeting on Tour.

The World No.3 started her week with two 27-minute victories over Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee and Malaysian Aifa Azman, before then finally getting the better of compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the quarter finals. In the last four, El Hammamy reignited her rivalry with World No.1 Nouran Gohar, overcoming her fellow Egyptian in a five-game thriller that lasted 84 minutes.

The six-time World Champion started with a scare, as she went the distance to defeat Nadine Shahin in the second round. Straight games wins followed against Hong Kong’s Tsz-Wing Tong and Belgium’s Nele Gilis to make the last four. She then went behind to New Zealand’s Joelle King, but fought back to win in four to make the final.

Can El Sherbini finish the year on a high and secure a second Hong Kong title? Or will El Hammamy claim a fourth Platinum crown of the year?

Diego Elias v Mostafa Asal

The men’s final will see Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias go head-to-head once again, doing battle on Tour for the fifth time in 2022, and the second time in three weeks.

Their last meeting came at the MARIGOLD Singapore Squash Open, where a freak injury saw Asal retire hurt in the second game, giving the Peruvian his only victory against the ‘Raging Bull’. Prior to that, Asal had won all five meetings, including four five-gamers. This will be the first battle between the two in a final, though.

Elias started his week with a straight games win over Mohamed ElSherbini, before then also beating Englishman Patrick Rooney and Egypt’s Youssef Soliman in three. In the semi-finals, he renewed his rivalry with England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy, and got revenge for his defeat in Singapore two weeks ago, winning in five to reach the final.

Asal has reached the final in exactly the same fashion, with three straight-games wins before a five-game battle. He defeated Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas, compatriot Yahya Elnawasany and French No.1 Victor Crouin, before coming up against World No.2 Paul Coll in the semis. Once again, he got the better of the Kiwi in five to advance.

Both men have already won three times in 2022… Can Asal claim yet another major victory? Or can Elias end his best ever year on Tour with a second Platinum level title?