A truly bizarre night in Cairo ended with Amina Orfi, Nouran Gohar and Paul Coll all booking their places in the semi-finals — but very little about the evening felt normal: Amina stayed composed… Nouran rediscovered her Terminator instinct.. Paul stayed clinical and mentally rock-solid.
The drama began before the squash even properly started. A sandy wind made the outdoor glass court unplayable, forcing the whole operation back to OWest and onto the traditional courts.
- Two women’s quarter-finals were then played at the same time, with almost no spectators allowed in, just family/coaches/officials
Amina Orfi handled the disruption best, beating Gina Kennedy 3-0. Gina admitted the change of schedule and conditions had affected her badly, particularly physically and mentally: “She dealt with it very well, as I knew she would.”
The biggest story of the night, though, was Nouran Gohar.
In just her second tournament back after giving birth, she beat Nour ElSherbini 3-1 — their 40th PSA meeting — and admitted afterwards that the whole experience felt almost unreal.
“It was extremely emotional, almost like another dimension.”
Tactically, Nouran felt she had read Nour perfectly, especially once she sensed the mental fatigue creeping in.
“At that moment, I knew I had her.”
- And then came Paul Coll, who produced one of his most clinical performances in recent memory to beat Victor Crouin 3-0.
Victor felt the scoreline disguised how close some of the exchanges were, but acknowledged that Paul’s level simply kept building.
“Paul is a machine on court: his game flows, and above all it gets better and better as he gains confidence.”
Paul, meanwhile, was proudest of his mentality after such a chaotic day.
“I was very happy with my attitude. That’s how I like sport to be played.”
He also paid Victor a lovely compliment:
“I’ve heard comments that he overanalyses the game. I think that’s the most ridiculous comment to make.”
So, after a night where almost nothing went to plan, the players who adapted best were the ones left standing I feel…
