Nouran Gohar: “I nearly died, actually”

The result will show a defeat: Amina Orfi beat Nouran Gohar 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 in 71 minutes.

What it won’t show is what Gohar shared after leaving the court.

“I’ve never been so emotional, and I have a lot of mixed feelings,” she said, still catching her breath. “I’m so proud of myself, obviously, because there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that people don’t know about at all.”

“I want people to know it wasn’t only about the pregnancy. I had a blood clot. I nearly died, actually, and I have two stents in my leg right now. So it’s not only about the pregnancy at all. People have no idea what I’ve been going through. Only the people very, very close to me know.”

A comeback in a different light

Until tonight, Gohar’s return had been told as a maternity story: a champion back on tour five months after the birth of her daughter. It was already remarkable. In only her second tournament back, she had beaten Nour El Sherbini in the quarter-finals, their 40th meeting on the tour. She was candid then about what it meant.

“If someone had told me that five months ago, when I had my daughter, I’d have said: ‘You’re crazy, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.’ “

Her revelation changes how that comeback reads. Gohar is not only returning from pregnancy. She has survived a serious medical scare and is competing with two stents in her leg, at the highest level of a sport that punishes every physical weakness.

The third game that got away

Gohar made the stronger start, taking the opener 11-9. Orfi levelled at 11-8, and the match turned on a tight third game that the younger Egyptian edged 12-10. From there, Orfi pulled away to take the fourth 11-6.

“This isn’t the result I think I deserve, but I know it’s coming,” Gohar said.

“I didn’t care who I was playing. On paper, I’m world number 52 and she’s world number one. I think I had my chances in the third, and that would have made a huge difference.

But I’m only just starting, and I’m still a long way from where I want to be.”

Match fitness, not just fitness

Gohar was clear that her legs did not let her down. What she is still rebuilding is the instinct that only competition gives.

“I think it’s more match fitness. It’s the consistency. It’s not that I got tired in my legs.

It’s in my head: when to attack, when to slow down, when to talk to the referee, when to keep going. However much you train, that’s not going to come by your second tournament back, for sure.”

She has walked this road before. After a long foot injury, she faced Hania El Hammamy in Florida for her first big match back.

“This match gave me the same feeling I had against Hania in Florida, my first big match back from injury. I lost it, but I was so happy with myself because I played a 100-minute match without my foot hurting, which hadn’t happened for the previous six months.”

“This is where I belong”

For Gohar, the defeat counts for less than the message she takes away from it.

“This is one of those matches where, obviously, I’m always playing to win, but it’s about more than that. It’s about convincing myself that this is where I belong. And personally, I think I could have done even better today.”

The result is coming, she says. On tonight’s evidence, it may not take long. Stay tuned…