World No.2 Nouran Gohar booked her place in the semi-finals of the 2023-24 CIB PSA World Championships after she battled to a 3-1 victory over fellow Egyptian Nour El Tayeb at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo, Egypt.
Gohar had won 15 of their 20 previous matches on the PSA Tour coming into today’s quarter-final match and boasted a 10-match unbeaten run against the World No.5, with El Tayeb’s last win coming at the J.P. Morgan China Open in 2019.
Gohar, who has reached the final of the last three PSA World Championships, made a blistering start to the match, keeping the ball glued to the side walls and burying El Tayeb deep in the back corners.
After conceding the first game, El Tayeb came out firing in the second, playing a solid line and length before using angles on her boasts to unsettle Gohar and draw level.
The Gohar of the third game was more like the Gohar of the first game though as she returned to her consistent line and length hitting to take the middle of the court away from El Tayeb as she re-established her one-game lead.
The high-quality squash continued into the fourth game, with Gohar pulling ahead to hold three match balls. El Tayeb saved two of them, but Gohar’s accuracy into the back corners was too much for her as ‘The Terminator’ closed out an 11-3, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9 victory.
The 26-year-old will now face either World No.2 Hania El Hammamy or World No.10 Rowan Elaraby for a place in the final of squash’s pinnacle tournament.
A tough rally finished superbly by @NourElTayeb 😮💨#PSAWorldChamps pic.twitter.com/H13KXFPlme
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) May 16, 2024
“You couldn’t get a tougher draw than El Tayeb in the quarter-finals and I keep on getting her in every single World Championships,” said Gohar afterwards.
“I have huge respect for Nour and I think that was one of her best performances against me. I had to find ways, even if it wasn’t comfortable for me. I tried to slow it down sometimes, which I never do.
“All credit to her, she made it tough for me out there. I played well but I think I did some dumb decisions during the match, I want to reflect on that with my team and come back ready for the semi finals. She gave me a match that will help me for tomorrow’s match and for her that was such a beautiful performance and I wish her all the best for the future tournaments.
“When I looked at my draw, I knew they were going to be tough matches back-to-back. I just booked a massage before this match because I knew win or lose that I would need some treatment. I’m having my family here to support and the physiotherapy as well. I will have a quick ice bath, some treatment and get ready for tomorrow.”
Result
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9 (61m)
