Egyptian 15-year-old Rama El Naggar and 18-year-old Eiad Daoud caused major seeding upsets on the opening day of the PSA World Championship African qualifying event after stunning Hayley Ward and Mohamed Sharaf, respectively, at the Palm Hills Club.
World No.245 El Naggar, who had just one win to her name on the PSA Tour prior to this event and reached the last-16 of the U17 BJO 2026 in January, sent shockwaves through the women’s draw after overcoming World No.64 Ward by an 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 scoreline.
El Naggar will face No.6 seed Malak Fathy for a spot in the quarter-finals after the latter defeated Lojayn Gohary in straight games.
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, all other seeded players advanced to the quarter-finals, with No.2 seed Ruqayya Salem notably defeating Talia Zakaria in four games and No.5 seed Barb Sameh coming from a game behind to defeat Malak Samir.
Meanwhile, in the men’s event World No.150 Daoud defeated No.1 seed Sharaf in a five-game thriller to book his spot in the last eight.
Daoud, the U19 BJO 2025 champion, kick-started his quest for a first PSA World Championship appearance in impressive style as he twice came from behind to overcome World No.74 Sharaf by a 13-15, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7 scoreline.
Two other unseeded players joined Daoud in the quarter-finals, with Ahmed Said Sobhy edging out No.7 seed Abdullah Hafez in a five-game thriller after clinching the fifth game 11-9, and Taha Elshafei getting the better of No.8 seed Seif Tamer in four games.
The first round results mean that 16 Egyptian players remain in the respective draws as they go in search of the coveted spots in the PSA World Championships main draw.
For more information on the event, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
Results: Men’s RD1
Eiad Daoud (EGY) bt [1] Mohamed Sharaf (EGY) 3-2: 13-15, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7 (62m)
[6] Mohamed Gohar (EGY) bt Khaled Labib (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 (48m) [5] Adam Hawal (EGY) bt Shady El Sherbiny (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 (64m) [3] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) bt Islam Kouritam (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 (65m) [4] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt Kareem Badawi (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 (42m)Ahmed Said Sobhy (EGY) bt [7] Abdullah Hafez (EGY) 3-2: 6-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-5, 11-9 (48m)
Taha Elshafei (EGY) bt [8] Seif Tamer (EGY) 3-1: 13-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4 (54m)
[2] Yassin Shohdy (EGY) bt Seif Shenawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 (26m)Draw: Men’s Quarter-Finals
Eaid Daoud (EGY) v [6] Mohamed Gohar (EGY)
[5] Adam Hawal (EGY) v [3] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) [4] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) v Ahmed Said Sobhy (EGY)Taha Elshafei (EGY) v [2] Yassin Shohdy (EGY)
Results: Women’s RD1
Rama El Naggar (EGY) bt [1] Hayley Ward (RSA) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 (47m)
[6] Malak Fathy (EGY) bt Lojayn Gohary (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (22m) [8] Nour Megahed (EGY) bt Sohayla Hazem (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 (29m) [4] Farida Walid (EGY) bt Fatema Zohdy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (20m) [3] Nour Khafagy (EGY) bt Mona Tamer (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (18m) [7] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt Salma El Alfy (EGY) 3-1: 10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (38m) [5] Barb Sameh (EGY) bt Malak Samir (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3 (36m) [2] Ruqayya Salem (EGY) bt Talia Zakaria (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)Draw: Women’s Quarter-Final
Rama El Naggar (EGY) v [6] Malak Fathy (EGY)
[8] Nour Megahed (EGY) v [4] Farida Walid (EGY) [3] Nour Khafagy (EGY) v [7] Rana Ismail (EGY) [5] Barb Sameh (EGY) v [2] Ruqayya Salem (EGY)
