Mohamed Nasser – a true champion 

Mohamed Nasser displayed tremendous grit and determination to win the BDO Namibian Open Squash Championships on Saturday. 

The top-seeded Egyptian had been struck down by a stomach bug the previous day and after being rushed to hospital and put on a drip, he just managed to reach the final, after coming from behind to beat the third seeded Gabriel Olufunmilayo of Nigeria 3-2 in the semis. 

Tournament organiser Steven Berry said Nasser had to overcome tremendous odds to reach the final.

“Mohamed went down with a stomach virus on Thursday night, he was very sick and was throwing up all night. I picked him up just before noon on Friday and took him to hospital where they put him on a drip to flush out his system and to rehydrate him, and when he took on Gabriel in the semifinals later that day you could see he still wasn’t right,” he said. 

“Gabriel was leading 2-1, but Mohamed has just got an incredible amount of skill and once he got to the fourth set he started hitting some unbelievable shots that Gabriel had no answer for. It’s amazing how he managed to pull through in that match, but that’s what makes him a world class player and I’m sure we will see him in the top 20 in about two years time,” Berry said. 

Having completely recovered for the final on Saturday, Nasser was in a different class as he beat the second-seeded Dewald van Niekerk of South Africa in straight sets 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 to take the title in just under 40 minutes. 

Nasser displayed tremendous stamina and athleticism, hitting some great returns, while he also displayed more patience and skill as he wore Van Niekerk down with long rallies. 

After the match he said he was very proud of his achievement.

“I showed a lot of mental toughness and I’m so proud of myself and glad that I I did it. Yesterday I felt so weak, the racket was so heavy and I felt I couldnt hit the ball properly – I was playing more mentally and technically without moving a lot but today was much better, I had more energy and everyone saw a big difference,” he said. 

“I enjoyed the tournament very much – the crowd was amazing and cheering for both of us and the people here are so nice. I also liked to play at the high altitude, my dad is a fitness coach, so I was fitter than anyone else and I’m just so proud of my performance. I want to thank everyone who made this possible from my coaches and my parents to my sponsors,” he added.

Oladipupo Ayomide of Nigeria won the A division after beating Lukumba Muchimba of Zambia 3-0 in the final, while Elvis Ngosa of Zambia beat Namibia’s Max Endjala 3-2 in a titanic battle to finish third. 

Andrew Forrest beat Andre Botha 3-0 to win the B division, while Charl Celliers beat Dirk van Niekerk 3-0 to finish third. 

Polite Mubure of Zimbabwe won the women’s title after beating her 15-year-old compatriot Natasha Gwidzima 3-0 in the final. Adri Lambert of Namibia came third after beating compatriot Carla Nortje 3-0.

Berry said it was a great tournament.

“It was absolutely unbelievable. It’s the biggest squash event we’ve ever hosted bar the 2014 junior world championships, but this was definitely at a higher level in terms of quality. 

“The organisation went smoothly, there were no hiccups, although a lot of the foreign players struggled in the hot conditions and high altitude and some even threw up, but it was a great test of their endurance. 

“The sponsors were very happy with the outcome and some have already committed to sponsoring again next year while other new sponsors have also shown an interest to come on board for next year,” he concluded.

The focus will now turn to the All Africa Squash Championships which start at the Wanderers courts today with a team competition, featuring Namibia A and B, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Nigeria till Wednesday, to be followed by the individual competition from Thursday to Saturday.