Egyptian squash's strength in depth

I was amazed to discover that 9 out of 16 of the finalists in the 2007 British Junior Open were Egyptian.

I've noted before the rise of a number of Egyptian players into the world elite, but was unaware of the strength in depth of north African talent.

It seems that the Egyptian ranks will be blessed with top professional ability for years to come, assuming that a significant proportion of these juniors go on to represent their country at senior level.

With Pakistan also supplying junior talent in not inconsiderable numbers, it appears that the Middle East and Indian sub-continent are well on their way to becoming the squash powerhouses of the future, after a number of years of dominance by the British and Australians.

Coupled with the amount of money that is being pumped into professional squash events in these regions (the 2007 Kuwait Open will be the richest tournament ever staged), this is perhaps more evidence that the UK's claim to be the "heart" of squash is ebbing away ...

2007 British Junior Open
Egyptian flair