Karim Gawad

Last updated

Karim Gawad
Karim Abdel Gawad 2017.jpg
Full nameKarim Abdel Gawad
Nickname(s)The Baby Faced Assassin
CountryFlag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Born (1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 33)
Alexandria, Egypt
Residence Cairo, Egypt
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Turned pro2008
RetiredActive
PlaysRight Handed
Coached byHisham El Attar
Racquet usedHarrow
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (May 2017)
Current rankingNo. 7 (December 2024)
Title(s)13
Tour final(s)18
World Open W (2016)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Cairo Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Chicago Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Marseille Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Washington D.C. Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Hong Kong Team

Karim Gawad (born 30 July 1991) is an Egyptian professional squash player. He is a former world individual champion and world number 1 and a three-times world team champion.

Contents

Career

In November 2016, he won the 2016 World Open Squash Championship in Cairo in Egypt against Ramy Ashour. He became the third Egyptian to win the World Championship after Amr Shabana and Ashour. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in May 2017. [1] [2] Later in 2017, he was part of the Egyptian team that won the 2017 Men's World Team Squash Championships in France and repeated the success with Egypt at the 2019 Men's World Team Squash Championships in the United States.

In 2020, he suffered a major injury during the final of the 2020 Manchester Open. He damaged his heel, which eventually led to ten months out of squash and his world ranking plummeted as a result. [3]

In May 2023, he reached the final of the 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship, after defeating second seed Diego Elías in the quarter final and third seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the semi final. [4] In the final he lost to compatriot Ali Farag but Gawad became the first unseeded player since Rodney Martin in 1991 to reach the world championship final. [5] It completed a remarkable comeback from the injury he suffered the previous year.

Gawad was recalled to the Egyptian team for the 2024 Men's World Team Squash Championships in Hong Kong and secured a third career gold medal in the Championships. [6] [7]

Titles and Finals

Major Finals (11)

Major tournaments include:

Year/SeasonTournamentOpponentResultScore
2016 Hong Kong Open Ramy Ashour Loss (1)9-11 11-8 6-11 11-5 6-11
2016 PSA World Championships Ramy Ashour Win (1)5-11 11-6 11-7 2-1 (retired)
2016 Qatar Classic Mohamed El Shorbagy Win (2)12-10 15-13 11-7
2017 Tournament of Champions Grégory Gaultier Win (3)6-11 11-6 12-10 11-6
2017 El Gouna International Grégory Gaultier Loss (2)6-11 8-11 7-11
2018Black Ball Open Ali Farag Win (4)11-6 13-11 7-11 11-8
2019 El Gouna International Ali Farag Loss (3)9-11 10-12 3-11
2018-19 PSA World Tour Finals Mohamed Abouelghar Win (5)12-10 11-6 5-11 8-11 12-10
2019Egyptian Open Ali Farag Win (6)11-6 11-8 11-8
2019-20 PSA World Tour Finals Marwan El Shorbagy Loss (4)6-11 5-11 3-11
2022-23 PSA World Championships Ali Farag Loss (5)10-12 6-11 6-11

World Open final appearances

OutcomeYearLocationOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner 2016 Cairo, Egypt Flag of Egypt.svg Ramy Ashour 5–11, 11–6, 11–7, 2-1 (retired)
Runner-up 2023 Chicago, USA Flag of Egypt.svg Ali Farag 10–12, 6–11, 6–11

Major World Series final appearances

Qatar Classic

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner 2016 Flag of Egypt.svg Mohamed El Shorbagy 12–10, 13–15, 11-7

Hong Kong Open

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up 2016 Flag of Egypt.svg Ramy Ashour 11–9, 8–11, 11–6, 5–11, 11-6

Al-Ahram International

OutcomeYearOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner 2016 Flag of Egypt.svg Ali Farag 11–4, 11–7, 11-5 [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramy Ashour</span> Egyptian squash player

Ramy Mohamed Ashour, known as Ramy Ashour, is a retired professional squash player from Egypt. He was one of the world's best squash players in the late 2000s and early 2010s, having won three World titles in 2008, 2012 and 2014. He became the youngest player to reach number one in the world since the 1980s, as well as the first ever two-time World Junior Squash Champion.

The Official Men's Squash World Ranking is the official world ranking for men's squash. The ranking is to rate the performance lvee of male professional squash players. It is also a merit-based method used for determining entry and seeding in men's squash tournaments. The rankings have been produced monthly then weekly since 29 August 2022. The current world number one is Ali Farag of Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed El Shorbagy</span> Egyptian/English squash player

Mohamed El Shorbagy is an Egyptian-English professional squash player. He represented Egypt from a young age until June 2022, when he switched to represent England. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 1 in November 2014, March 2018, February 2020, and again in July 2021 and was the 2017 World Squash champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nour El Tayeb</span> Egyptian squash player

Nour El Tayeb is a former professional squash player who represented Egypt. She reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3, in March 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diego Elías</span> Peruvian squash player (born 1996)

Diego Elías Chehab is a squash player who represents Peru. He is the 2023–24 World Champion. In April 2023, he reached a ranking of number 1 in the world, the first South American player in squash history to do so.

Fares Mohamed Dessouky is an Egyptian professional squash player who represented Egypt. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 7 in April 2021.

Mazen Hesham Al Sabry is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He is a two-times world team champion and reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 5 in May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Farag</span> Egyptian squash player (born 1992)

Ali Amr Farag is an Egyptian professional squash player. He is a four-times world individual champion, having won the title in 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 and a four-times world team champion. He has a highest career world ranking of world No. 1 by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

Youssef Soliman, is a professional squash player who represents Egypt. He is a world team champion and reached a career high world ranking of 10 in December 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Men's World Open Squash Championship</span> Squash championship held in Cairo, Egypt

The 2016 PSA Men's World Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 2016 World Championship, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Cairo, Egypt from 27 October to 6 November 2016. Karim Abdel Gawad won his first World Championship title, defeating Ramy Ashour in the final.

The Men's Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open 2016 is the men's edition of the 2016 Hong Kong Open, which is a PSA World Series event Platinum. The event took place in Hong Kong from 23 August to 28 August. Ramy Ashour won his third Hong Kong Open trophy, beating Karim Abdel Gawad in the final.

The 2017 PSA Men's World Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 2017 World Squash Championships, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Manchester, England from 8 to 17 December 2017.

Baptiste Masotti is a French professional squash player. As of December 2024, he was ranked number 23 in the world; his highest career rank was 13, on 29 January 2024.

Dimitri Steinmann is a Swiss professional squash player. He reached a career high ranking of 18 in the world during December 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squash in Egypt</span>

Squash is a popular sport in Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mostafa Asal</span> Egyptian squash player

Mostafa Asal is an Egyptian professional squash player, he is a two-times world team champion and formerly ranked World No. 1. Nicknamed "The Raging Bull" for his play style and controversial on-court behavior, which includes three suspensions from the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour. He became number one in the world in January 2023 and is currently ranked third.

The 2018–19 PSA Men's World Squash Championship was the 2018–19 men's edition of the World Squash Championships, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event will take place in Chicago, United States from 23 February - 2 March 2019.

The Men's Allam British Open 2017 is the men's edition of the 2017 British Open Squash Championships, which is a PSA World Series event. The event took place at the Airco Arena in Hull in England from 19 to 26 March. Grégory Gaultier won his third British Open trophy, beating Nick Matthew in the final.

The Men's Allam British Open 2018 is the men's edition of the 2018 British Open Squash Championships, which is a PSA World Series event. The event took place at the Airco Arena in Hull in England from 13 to 20 May. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez won his first British Open trophy, beating Mohamed El Shorbagy in the final.

The 2023 PSA Men's World Squash Championship was the 2023 men's edition of the World Squash Championships, which served as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Chicago, United States, from 3 to 11 May 2023. It was the third time that Chicago hosted the PSA World Championships after 2018–19 & 2020–21 editions.

References

  1. "PSA Player Profile". Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  2. "SquashInfo Player Profile" . Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  3. ""Four Months in a Wheelchair" – Gawad Discusses Return From Injury Hell". PSA World Tour. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. "2023 World Championship draws". PSA. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. "FINALS : Sherbini and Farag retain titles". World Squash. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. "Egypt complete historic clean sweep of WSF World Squash Team Championship titles". World Squash. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  7. "Egypt's squash team defeats England and wins World Championship title". Egypt Independent. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  8. "PSA World Tour, Al-Ahram: Gawad and El Welily crowned champions". Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by PSA Young Player of the Year
2013
Succeeded by