Farag Lands Fourth World Championship Crown

Ali Farag has landed his fourth World Championship crown after beating his Egyptian compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad in straight games.

It’s back-to-back Platinum-level triumphs for Farag, having recently lifted the British Open, as the World No.4 also makes it three World Championships in a row.

Farag now goes level with Geoff Hunt and Amr Shabana with the number of World Championships won in the men’s game.

2016 winner Gawad, who became the first unseeded men’s player to reach the final of the World Championships since Rodney Martin in 1991, got the ideal start to the opening game as he took a 9-5 lead.

Gawad had one game ball, which was saved by Farag, who battled through in the tiebreak to draw first blood in an entertaining first game.

After a lengthy first game, Farag had found his feet well in the second as it only took him eight minutes to double his lead with an 11-6 win.

31-year-old Farag was well in his groove in the opening exchanges of the third, but there was a brief stoppage in play after Gawad rolled his ankle. The contributed injury gave Gawad 15 minutes to recover and return to court.

The former World Champion was able to step back onto court, but the injury sustained by Gawad left him out of sorts. The break in play didn’t affect Farag, who came through to secure his fourth World Championship title.

“The emotions are so raw, it’s so hard to put it into words,” said Farag.

“It’s so special. No matter how many times you go through it, it’s even more special than the time before. Especially against such a champion like Karim, I’m super relieved and super happy.

“Two months ago we played a practice match and we were limping and the standard wouldn’t have even earned us a place in the World Championship, let alone the final. To come all the way through to reach the final is a very proud achievement for the two of us.”

Result
[4] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)

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