Weekend RoundUp: Kobayashi, Elnawasany and Ibrahim all Claim Title Triumphs

Japan’s Ryosei Kobayashi and Egyptian duo Yahya Elnawasany and Sana Ibrahim all prevailed in the PSA Challenger events to take place over the weekend in both England and Egypt.

Japan’s Kobayashi made history as he became the first Japanese male player to win three PSA titles after he came from 2-1 down against Hungary’s No.2 seed Farkas Balazs in the final of the PSA Challenger Tour 5 event taking place in Eastleigh.

The two players had only faced each other once before, with that meeting coming in the semi-finals of the Haining Squash Open, where Kobayashi also took the win.

Thanks to that win over the weekend, the player from Yokohama saw his stock rise as he moved up to a career-high of World No.90 in March’s men’s PSA World Rankings.

Meanwhile in Cairo, it was Elnawasany and Ibrahim who reigned victorious as the higher seeded players defeated their compatriots to take home the trophies on home soil.

17-year-old Ibrahim won her first PSA title as she stormed to victory in 27 minutes against fellow Egyptian teenager Haya Ali by an 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 scoreline, which saw her move up four places in March’s women’s PSA World Rankings to sit at No.80 in the world.

The men’s title went to 18-year-old Elnawasany after he came from 2-1 down in a thrilling final against No.7 seed Abdallah Elmasry.

The victory marks the young Egyptian’s maiden PSA title and also sees him rise from World No.108 to inside the top 100 at No.98 in this month’s rankings.

Results:
CIB Egyptian Tour 4
Men’s Final:
[1] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bts [7] Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) 3-2: 11-7, 14-16, 4-11, 11-3, 11-2 (67m)

Women’s Final:
[2] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bts [8] Haya Ali (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (27m)

Hampshire Open
[1] Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) bts [2] Farkas Balazs (HUN) 3-2: 7-11, 11-3, 10-12, 13-11, 11-2 (79m)