Kush Mahan gives information on which athletes will be participating in the British Squash Championship and which ones will be too injured to make it.

1. T H E B R I T I S H O P E N
S Q U A S H C H A M P I O N S H I P :
U P D AT E O N AT H L E T E S
B Y K U S H M A H A N

2. • The British Open Squash Championships is the oldest, most established, and one of the
most respected tournaments in the game of squash.
• Along with the PSA World Tour it is considered the highest, most prestigious tournament
in the sport.
• This year, the week-long tournament will begin on May 11, but there’s already news of a
certain favorite not making it.

3. • As rather upsetting news,
sources found the 2013
tournament champion
(and three-time additional
world champion), Ramy
Ashour, 28, of Egypt was
ruled out from the 2015
cup.
• An aggravated achilles
heel injury was listed as
the official reason for
sitting out of this year’s
pinnacle event.

4. • Ashour’s absence means some
rearrangement of the seeding
chart.
• Ashour’s fellow countryman
and veteran, Amr Shabana—
the runner-up in the 2004
British Open—will be taking
his place as the number four
seed in the first match against
England’s Chris Simpson.
• England’s Nick Matthew (the
2006, 2009, 2010 champion)
will be seeded third, behind
Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt
and 2014 winner and 2013
runner-up Grégory Gaultier of
France.

5. • However, current arrangements may change once more as Nick
Matthew debates whether he can participate at the open with a
recovering knee injury.
• The aging superstar hurt his knee coming off the El Gouna
international in Egypt last month.

6. • Before the injury, he showed
only signs of continuing
success with four significant
victories bringing him up to
second in the world
rankings.
• Matthew has been training
alongside veteran Ellery
Hanley in order to prepare
himself for the upcoming
games.

7. T H A N K S F O R WAT C H I N G ! – K U S H M A H A N
S O U R C E S C I T E D :
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• http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/squash/32577362
• https://psaworldtour.com/news/view/1818
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