A legendary player drawn by a tournament-record purse of $50,000 has British Columbia racquet fans buzzing about this year's edition of the Comfort Inn Squash Championships beginning Tuesday at North Vancouver's Evergreen Squash Club.
Egypt's Amr Shabana, the tournament's top seed, is currently ranked No. 8 in the world - highest ever for this tournament - and boasts a resumé that puts him among the sport's greats.
Shabana was ranked No. 1 in the world for 33 straight months from April of 2006 to December of 2009, was named world player of the year in 2006 and 2009 and won world championship titles four times from 2003 to 2009. Injuries have slowed him in the last couple of years but he's back in form and ready to make his mark this week in North Vancouver.
"He's a legend," tournament chairman Paul Marley told the North Shore News. "He's one of the best players ever in the history of the sport."
It won't, however, be a cakewalk for Shabana. The $50,000 prize purse, up from $35,000 last year, has produced the deepest field in the tournament's eight-year history with seven players ranked in the world's top-17 in attendance. The list includes England's Daryl Selby, last year's champion, and Egypt's Hisham Ashour, a player who lost to Selby in last year's final and has since moved up from No. 29 to No. 13 in the world rankings.
The tournament is now one of the two largest annual squash events in Canada and boasts the best field seen in Western Canada since the early 1990s, said Marley. Tickets are still available to see these world-class athletes in action.
"It's unbelievable what they can do athletically. They make it look so easy and I know it's not that easy," said Marley. "We all are so keen about the Vancouver Canucks - and I love them to death and follow them like most people do - but in terms of athletic ability these guys are right there. You see these guys darting around the court and you say, 'How does that happen?'"
The tournament begins with qualifiers Tuesday and Wednesday, opening round and quarterfinals Thursday and Friday, semifinals Saturday starting at 2 p.m. and finals Sunday at 3 p.m. For more information visit www. evergreensquash.com.
