Throwback Thursday: Shabana Secures Fourth World Championship Crown

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With his 2014/15 season proving to be a record-breaking swansong, Amr Shabana retired from competitive professional squash last month as one of the greatest players ever to play the sport.

Shabana became the oldest ever PSA World Series title winner at the 2014 J.P. Tournament of Champions and, although that record has since been broken by Nick Matthew, he followed that up with further success at the Grasshopper Cup two months later.

We take a look back to arguably his defining moment at the 2009 World Championship final where he took on compatriot Ramy Ashour in Kuwait.

With three previous titles to his name, Shabana came into the final with plenty of pedigree and had eliminated James Willstrop and Wael el Hindi en-route to the showpiece event.

However, Ashour was the defending champion having defeated Shabana in the previous year’s semi-final and was emerging as one of the leading players in the world.

The then 22-year-old had enhanced his title credentials with superb victories against Peter Barker and second seed Gregory Gaultier earlier on in the tournament to set up a delicately balanced final showdown.

Shabana responded in a fashion typical of the older Egyptian and produced a stunning display that underlined his persona as the ‘Maestro’.

You can watch the highlights below for FREE

For more magic ‘Maestro’ moments, tune in to SQUASHTV where an array of Shabana’s greatest matches await – including the 2014 Grasshopper Cup final.