WORLD OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONS RELISHING OPPORTUNITY TO DEFEND 

THEIR TITLES IN MANCHESTER IN 2008

Reigning World Open Squash Champions Amr Shabana of Egypt and Rachael Grinham from Australia have been speaking this week about their excitement of defending their recently captured crowns in Manchester next October, when the city plays host to the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships – Manchester 2008.

 The ‘baton’ for the Championships was officially passed onto Manchester at the closing ceremony of the Men’s World Open in Bermuda last Sunday (2^nd December), which saw Shabana become only the fourth man in the history of the game to win three World titles, joining an elite roll of honour which features the illustrious names of Geoff Hunt, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.

 Shabana, (pictured right) the World Number 1, said, “I’m really looking forward to defending my title in Manchester . I have played there numerous times but haven’t always performed to my best. Yet everytime I go back to Manchester I do a little better so hopefully when I’m there next October I will be that bit better and recapture my title.”

 While victory in Bermuda guaranteed Shabana his place in the history books, it was not something the Giza-based player had been thinking too much about. He said, “I never really think about being the fourth player to win three titles. I started the season just wanting to maintain my World Number 1 spot and retain my World Open title which I had lost in 2006 in my home town!

 “Those were my two main goals. You can’t really go into a season and think about statistics like that as there are so many good players out there. But now I’ve won the title back and people mention it, it’s great to be compared with the greats.”

 The nine day Championships, which get under way in Manchester on Saturday October 11^th next year, will be the first time the Men’s and Women’s World Open Championships have been run concurrently in England, and only the second time ever in the history of the sport.  

Having captured the World Open title for the first time in her career in Madrid in October, Australia ’s Rachael Grinham (pictured below) can not wait to get to Manchester , saying, “I’m definitely looking forward to defending my title there. Until this year I’d been kind of unlucky in Manchester , but now having won the British Open there I’ve got good memories.”

The Cairo-based player is also relishing the chance of playing in front of the Manchester crowds and said, “ Britain is always a good place to play and has always been one of the strongest nations in squash. The strength of their local non-professional players must be well above anywhere else in the world, so the atmosphere of having such a knowledgeable and appreciative crowd is awesome.”

 The Hi-Tec World Squash Championships – Manchester 2008 are not the only world-class sporting event to be coming to Manchester in 2008, with the city also hosting the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 9^th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), the BUPA Great Manchester Run and the UEFA Cup Final.

 Tickets are already on sale for The Hi-Tec World Squash Championships can be purchased for the official website - www.worldsquash2008.com which also has full details on the event.