World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt in action in this file photo.
Recently-crowned World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad will be hoping to continue his superb form in the upcoming Qatar Classic Squash Championships 2016 which will take place in Doha from November 13 to 18.
The draw for the tournament was unveiled yesterday and the line-up includes some of the world’s greatest players, spearheaded by champion Gawad.
The players will battle it out for crucial points on the PSA Road to Dubai Standings - which is topped by World Number-one Mohamed El Shorbagy - with a place at the lucrative season-ending Dubai PSA World Series Finals up for grabs for the top eight.
Gawad, the 25-year-old star from Giza, Egypt, lifted the sport’s most prestigious title at the Wadi Degla PSA Men’s World Championship last week in Cairo, beating three-time winner Ramy Ashour to add to the Al Ahram Squash Open NEWGIZA title earlier this season.
The World Number-three will meet a qualifier in round one, and is seeded to contest an exciting semi-final with 2015 World Champion Gregory Gaultier, who will hope to be fully recovered from the ankle injury he sustained during the World Championship. Defening champion El Shorbagy is also in action as he looks to bounce back from a semi-final defeat to Gawad in Cairo.
The hard-hitting Egyptian’s title-winning exploits at the Delaware Investments US Open catapulted him to the top of the PSA Road to Dubai standings ahead of Gawad and he will aim to strengthen his grasp on top spot with a third successive Qatar Classic crown.
ElShorbagy opens up against Australian Number-one Cameron Pilley - the player who ended his charge during the 2016 Dubai PSA World Series Finals - and could meet Ashour in an explosive quarter-final clash, which would act as the latest chapter in their long-running rivalry.
The winner of 2009 tournament Nick Matthew, 2015 World Championship runner-up Omar Mosaad and World Number-six Ali Farag are just some of the other big names included in a world-class draw, with Mosaad taking on the tournament wildcard, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi, in round one.
The qualifying stages of the 2016 Qatar Classic will take place on November 11-12, while the main draw begins a day later, with the final taking place on Friday November 18 - entry to the tournament is free of charge.
