CAIRO – Egypt defended their WSF Women’s World Team Championship as a star-studded lineup overpowered maiden finalists USA in front of a sellout crowd at the Madinaty Sporting Club, Cairo.
The hosts, represented by World No.1 Nouran Gohar, World No.2 Nour El Sherbini, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.6 Nour El Tayeb had reached their sixth final without dropping a match, with Nouran Gohar’s 3-1 win over Aifa Azman representing the only game dropped by the top seeds.
The USA, represented by World No.5 Amanda Sobhy, World No.10 Olivia Fiechter, World No.15 – and younger sister to Amanda – Sabrina Sobhy, and World No.20 Olivia Clyne had already made history by reaching the final, with fifth being the No.2 seeds’ previous highest finish.
In a thrilling opening match, the best contest of the tournament, Gohar was pushed to the very brink by Sobhy.
The World No.1 had looked in complete control when she took a 7-0 lead in the first game, only for Sobhy to dig in brilliantly.
In front of a raucous crowd, Sobhy began to pull points back. Although it was too late to rescue the first game, which Gohar took 11-7, the American levelled the scores with a well-deserved 11-5 win in the second.
The 29-year-old then took a hard-fought and feisty third game 12-10, putting Egypt behind for the first time in the tournament.
Now, though, it was Gohar’s turn to show her mettle. After falling behind in the fourth game, ‘the Terminator’ saved two match balls to level the tie with a 13-11 win.
Roared on by 1,500 fans and with her opponent beginning to wilt, Gohar pressed her advantage in the decider, firing past Sobhy time and again to hand Egypt a crucial one-match lead with an 11-8 victory.
