Hong Kong FC Open: Abouelghar Scores Victory On Return To PSA Action

Former World No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar has scored a victory in his first match on the PSA World Tour since November 2021 as he overcame in-form compatriot Aly Abou Eleinen to reach the quarter finals at the Hong Kong FC Open 2022.

Abouelghar has been sidelined due to a knee injury for over a year and has seen his ranking drop to World No.850 in that time. He showed no times of dropping his level as after losing the opening game 11-4 to Eleinen, he recovered to take the next three games and score his first victory since last year’s Qatar Classic in October 2021.

He now faces Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann who scored a surprise victory over compatriot and No.4 seed Nicolas Mueller to reach the quarter finals. Steinmann took a tight first game 11-8 before steamrolling the next two games, winning 11-3, 11-2 to score the win in just under half an hours play.

Mohamed ElSherbini scored the only other seeding upset as he overcame Scotland’s No.8 seed Greg Lobban in a 61-minute five-game encounter. ElSherbini led 2-1 in games and looked in the driving seat to close the match out in four games. Lobban battled back to take the fourth game and force a decider but the Egyptian rose to the occasion and went from strength to strength to book his place in the last 8, winning 11-3 in the fifth.

He’ll now play Egypt’s Malaysian Open champion Mazen Hesham for a semi-final place after the No.2 seed defeated the last remaining home player in the draw, Tsz Kwan Lau. The crowd favourite had his chances to level in the second game but lost out by a close 15-13 scoreline, giving Hesham a 2-0 lead. Hesham then converted 11-7 in the third to record a straight games win.

Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu had to battle back from a game down to defeat Scotland’s Rory Stewart to advance. The World No.31 lost a brutal first game 14-12 in 22 minutes to give the Scot a 1-0 lead in the encounter. Pajares quickly bounced back and continued to work the tall frame of Stewart and went on to capture the next three games 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 to set up a quarter final match up with top seed Marwan ElShorbagy.

There were also wins for Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and Egyptian duo Marwan ElShorbagy and Youssef Soliman who defeated Juan Camilo Vargas, Bernat Jaume and Balasz Farkas all in straight games to advance.

You can keep up with the live scores from the event here.

Results: Hong Kong FC Open 2022 – RD2

[1] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-1 (28m)
[7] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-1: 12-14, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (73m)
[6] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (37m)
[3] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Balazs Farkas (HUN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (31m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt [4] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-2 (29m)
[5] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) 3-1: 4-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-2 (48m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt [8] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3 (61m)
[2] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 15-13, 11-7 (31m)

Draw: Hong Kong FC Open 2022 – Quater Finals

[1] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [7] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)

[6] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [3] Youssef Soliman (EGY)

Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v [5] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)

Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [2] Mazen Hesham (EGY)