- Title: EGYPT: AL-AHRAM SQUASH SEMI-FINAL HIGHLIGHTS.
- Date: 16th June 1997
- Summary: GIZA, EGYPT (JUNE 16, 1997) 1. EXTERIOR OF REPLICA TEMPLE AS SPECTATORS GET IN 2. CLOSE SHOT CHAMPIONSHIP SIGN 3. AUDIENCE AT OUTDOOR ARENA 4. PETER NICOL GOING TO COURT APPLAUDED 5. AHMED BARADA STANDING UP ON HIS WAY TO COURT 6. CUTAWAY WOMEN WATCHING FIRST SEMIFINAL. AHMED BARADA (WHITE SHIRT) VS PETER NICOL (RED) 7. NICOL SERVES AHD WINS POINT 8. WIDE SHOT OF COURT WITH PYRAMIDS IN BACKGROUND 9. GOOD EXHANGE OF SHOTS BY TWO PLAYERS AS NICOL WINS MATCH 10. CROWD WATCHING 11. NICOL AND BARADA SHAKE HANDS 12. NICOL SAYS HIS OPPONENT KEPT FIGHTING, FIGHTING AND ACKNOWLEDGES HE WAS LUCKY TO WIN IN THE END. (ENGLISH SPEECH) SECOND SEMIFINAL. JANSHIR KHAN (BLUE SHIRT) VS ALEX GOUGH (WHITE WITH DARK STRIPE) 13. JANSHER KHAN GETS INSIDE ARENA 14. ALEX GOUGH WALKING TO COURT 15. FRONT SHOT FROM INSIDE COURT 16. REAR SHOT AS GOUGH WINS POINT 17. KHAN WINS MATCH, TWO PLAYERS SHAKE HANDS AND LEAVE COURT 18. KHAN SAYING HE ONCE AGAIN IS IN THE FINAL AND RECOGNISING THE WAY HE IS HAPPY WITH HIS PERFORMANCE. (ENGLISH SPEECH) 19. PAN ACROSS STANDS Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 1st July 1997 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: GIZA, EGYPT
- City:
- Country: Egypt
- Reuters ID: LVA1WB66GTVCMWYNTYBRHE8TM4OI
- Story Text: Third-seeded Peter Nicol of Scotland dashed the hopes of Egyptian teenager Ahmed Barada meeting world champion Jansher Khan of Pakistan in the final of the al-Ahram International Squash Championship on Monday (June 16).
On an open-air glass court set up beside the Great Pyramids of Giza outside Cairo, Nicol defeated 19-year-old Barada 14-15 15-11 15-12 15-13 in a 107-minute semi-final match.
In the second semi-final Jansher Khan defeated qualifier Alex Gough of Wales 15-11 15-12 15-5, for a repeat of the British Open final which Jansher and Nicol contested in April.
A partisan crowd of 3,000 were hoping the fifth seeded Barada could set up a replay of last year's final in which the Egyptian, then an unseeded wild card, went down to the longstanding champion.
But neither support from the crowd, nor the local hero's exceptionally physical play could stop the Scot winning the match.
Barada's tactics brought 103 decisions and a couple of conduct warnings from Egyptian referee Nasser Zahran.
One warning was for dangerous play when Barada, pursuing a clinical drop shot in the top right corner at 12-12, ignored the ball and hacked Nicol's feet out from under him.
But the tackle did not stop Nicol moving fast and speed was the key to the Scot's victory. Nicol let a first-game lead of 13-10 disappear to a lost single-point tie-break, but he calmly controlled the closing stages of each of the following games.
Less excitement marked the women's semi-finals, in which top-seeded world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald defeated Carol Owens in straight games and second-seeded Michelle Martin similarly dispatched Sabine Schone of Germany to set up a repeat of the all-Australian British Open final last April.
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