By Anil John/Doha
Aussie squash legend Geoff Hunt has called for a review of the game’s rules after promising Qatari teen Abdulla al-Tamimi was knocked out of the World Junior Squash Championships following an injury which resulted in several drops of blood falling onto the court.Al-Tamimi’s last 16 match against Indian world number 5 Mangesh Mangaonkar had all the makings of an under-19 classic when the Qatari went for a difficult shot and scraped his right arm badly on the court’s wooden surface. The players exchanged a few more shots during the rally before al-Tamimi, the world’s seventh-ranked junior, noticed blood dripping from his arm and sought treatment at 4-4 in the third game after each player had won a game in the best-of-five match.However, according to the rules of squash, the court is deemed “unplayable” if any blood is spilled during a match, with the opposing player automatically declared the winner.Hunt, who is the chief squash coach at Aspire Academy from where al-Tamimi graduated, however said the rule needs to be changed.“It takes only 10 seconds to wipe off the blood from the court. It’s silly that a player has to lose a match because a few drops of blood fell on the court. “I am a little cross about it. It is certainly a rule that must be reviewed,” Hunt, the world’s top-ranked player from 1975 to 1980 and four-times World Open winner told Gulf Times.The Aussie was particularly upset that al-Tamimi was denied the opportunity to showcase his talent in an important tournament played in his home country.“The poor boy wanted to do well in Doha which is his hometown. It’s really a shame that the match had to end this way. It would have been a fantastic experience for him to be able to do well in front of his supporters.”
A victory for al-Tamimi would have put him just three matches away from a possible World Championship title, but for the rule which was even criticised by a senior umpire associated with the tournament.“It’s a stupid rule which needs to be changed,” he said on condition of anonymity. “The court can be wiped clean, and even if there’s a risk of contamination it is so negligible that it hardly matters. Even in contact sports like boxing and rugby players often bleed profusely but the match is not stopped because of that.”Al-Tamimi’s unfortunate ouster means Qatar has no further representation in the tournament. Five of Qatar’s six players had crashed out in the first round itself.Meanwhile, Egyptian world number 1 and defending champion Marwan El Shorbagy survived a scare from Pakistan’s Syed Bukhari before making the quarter-finals.In a match that went to five games and lasted 74 minutes, the 18-year-old El Shorbagy had to delve deep both into his physical and mental reserves to stay in the hunt for a second successive world championship crown.The last eight includes four Egyptians, two Pakistanis, one Indian and a Jordanian.In the women’s section, as many as five Egyptians have made the quarter-finals, underlining the country’s status as a squash superpower. The other three are India’s Anaka Alankamony, France’s Melissa Alves and England’s Emily Whitlock.
ResultsMen’s last 16: Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Syed Bukhari (Pak) 5/11, 12/10, 11/3, 8/11, 11/3 (74m) Nasir Iqbal (Pak) bt Tom Ford (Eng) 11/7, 11/8, 11/2 (34m) Ahmad Al-Saraj (Jor) bt Ollie Holland (Eng) 11/9, 11/5, 11/5 (43m) Danish Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Juan Vargas (Col) 12/10 , 11/2, 11/0 (20m) Mazen Hesham (Egy) bt Ahmed Abdel Khalek (Egy) 11/6, 11/8, 11/3 (31m) Fares Dessouki (Egy) bt Jan van den Herrewegen (Bel) 11/2, 11/9, 11/8 (31m) Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) bt Abdulla al-Tamimi (Qat) 10/12, 11/3, 4/4 default Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) bt Ahmed Abdel-Fattah (Egy) 11/7, 11/4, 11/7 (27m) Women’s last 16: Nour El Sherbini (Egy) bt Emelia Soini (Fin) 11/3, 11/7, 11/2 (16m) Melissa Alves (Fra) bt Maria Ubina (Usa) 15/13, 11/8, 9/11, 11/7 (31m) Mariam Metwally (Egy) bt Aparijitha Balamurukan (Ind) 11/4, 11/4, 11/2 (20m) Kanzy El Dafrawy (Egy) bt Victoria Temple-Murray (Eng) 11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (19m) Yathreb Adel (Egy) bt Choi Uen Shan (Hkg) 11/5, 11/4, 11/7 (22m) Anaka Alankamony (Ind) bt Ho Ka Po (Hkg) 8/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/6 (44m) Salma Hany Ibrahim (Egy) bt Julia Lecoq (Fra) 11/6, 11/4, 11/7 (20m) Emily Whitlock (Eng) bt Sabrina Sobhy (Usa) 11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (22m)