World No. 4 and former world champion Karim Abdel Gawad being welcomed by Qatari children at the Hamad International Airport yesterday.
Doha: The ranks of players in town for the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship has continued to swell with World No. 4 and 2016 world champion Karim Abdel Gawad being the latest to touch down at the Hamad International Airport yesterday.
The 28-year-old Egyptian was received by officials of the Qatar Squash Federation who offered the former World No. 1 the warm welcome and great hospitality Qatar is known for.
Gawad arrives in Doha three days after claiming victory at the season-ending World Tour Finals in Cairo where he got the better of World No.1 Ali Farag, winning 3-0 (11-6, 11-8,11-8) at the Egyptian Squash Open PSA Platinum event.
The right-handed player, the third Egyptian to win the World Championship after Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour, will be hoping to claim his second World title in Doha after enjoying a splendid season which saw him reaching the semi-finals of the Grasshopper Cup, DPD Open and the British and victory in Cairo.
The $335,000 total prize purse tournament is featuring a total of 64 players from 24 countries, including the 56 highest ranked players and eight wild card entrants.
In addition to capturing the trophy and the lion’s share of the prize money, the winner will also qualify for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals.
