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World Squash Awards 2008
the Winners ...
PSA player of the year: James Willstrop
PSA most improved player: Omar Mosaad
WISPA player of the year: Nicol David
WISPA young player of the year: Annie Au
WISPA most improved player: Laura
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18-Oct-08:
Legends
Geoff Hunt,
Hashim & Azam Khan
honoured
at
world
awards
Squash legends Hashim & Azam Khan, together with Australian
Geoff Hunt, have been honoured with Lifetime Achievement
Awards at the World Squash Awards in Manchester.
The
presentations took place in the appropriate setting of the Great
Hall in the historic Manchester Town Hall before a packed gathering
of VIPS, players and officials from the sport during the city’s
hosting of the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships – the first joint
staging of the Men’s and Women’s World Opens in the UK.
It
was the fourth staging of the World Squash Awards by Eventis
Sports Marketing, a company run by former players Peter Nicol,
MBE; Tim Garner and Angus Kirkland.
Hashim Khan,
born in Pakistan in 1916, won the British Open seven times between
1951 and 1958. The distinguished 92-year-old – who only recently
gave up playing the sport - journeyed from his home in Denver, USA,
to receive his award.
His
younger brother Azam Khan, based in the UK, continued the
family’s association with the sport’s most coveted title - firstly
finishing as runner-up to Hashim in three British Open finals before
going on to claim the title four times, from 1959 to 1962!
Geoff Hunt
took up the gauntlet thrown down by British hero Jonah Barrington
- winning his first British Open crown in 1969 before picking up a
total of eight titles by 1981.
The
presentations were made by Lifetime Achievement Award holder
Jahangir Khan, the six times World Open champion and record
ten-time British Open champion who ended his six-year reign as
President of the World Squash Federation in Manchester.
Jahangir's
final evening as the WSF President was also observed and a tribute
to all his hard work over the years was greeted with a standing
ovation. This truly was a unique occasion for all squash fans as we
had several generations of World Champions present and few future
ones sitting at the tables watching on.
Jahangir received a Special Award from the WSF. Emeritus President
Susie Simcock delivered a citation in which she reminded the
star-studded audience that 'JK' first came to prominence in 1979
when he won the World Amateur title, aged 15 - before going on to
achieve a remarkable 774-match unbeaten run, over five years and
eight months.
Perhaps his most notable accolade, however, was the award of
'Sportsman of the Millennium' in Pakistan.
"Jahangir quite simply represents everything that's good about
Squash - and everything that's good about sport," concluded Ms
Simcock.
Nicol David,
the world number one from Malaysia who went on to win the women's
World Open title for a third time in Manchester, won the WISPA
Player of the Year Award for the fourth year in a row.
David received the award from fellow countryman HRH Prince Tunku
Imran, Patron of the WSF and a prime mover in Squash making its
debut in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
"Thanks to everybody," said Nicol after receiving the award
as voted by the WISPA membership.
"Having Squash in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia really sparked
things off for me - and I'm grateful for the great support I've had
all the way."
England's James Willstrop beat Egyptians Amr Shabana and Ramy
Ashour to win the PSA Player of the Year Award. "It means a
great deal to be recognised by such a distinguished group of people,
and at such an event," said the world No3 from Yorkshire after
receiving his prize from the newly-elected PSA Chairman Ziad
Al-Turki. "And it's quite nice to get one over on Ramy and Shabs!"
Hong
Kong's Annie Au won the WISPA Young Player of the Year
Award. "I'm very happy to get this award," said the 19-year-old
who battled through to the last 16 of the World Open. "I thank Hong
Kong Squash for giving me so much support."
Omar Mosaad,
a 20-year-old from Cairo, picked up the PSA Young Player of the
Year Award. Egyptian national coach Amir Wagih, who collected
the award on behalf of Mosaad, was asked the secret of Egypt's
success in Squash: "Not for export!" was the former international's
brief response!
England international Laura Lengthorn-Massaro won the
WISPA Most Improved Player of the Year Award. "It means a lot to
me," said the 24-year-old from Lancashire.
There was a surprise Services to Squash Award which was
presented to Jim Quigley, Manchester City Council's Head of
Major Sports Events and Partnerships.
The driving force behind the staging of numerous major Squash events
in the city over the past 12 years - including the 2008 World
Championships, the National Championships, the British Open and the
2002 Commonwealth Games - Quigley admitted that 'Squash is my
passion'.
"I
am proud to have been given the opportunity by Manchester City
Council to do this," Quigley. "The staging of the Commonwealth
Games here led to a legacy programme which has inspired more than
6,000 youngsters to take up the sport - many of whom have played in
these championships."
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"Holding this year’s World Squash Awards in conjunction with the
World Championships in Manchester was a break in the tradition of
staging the event at the RAC in London. But we, Eventis, felt it
was too good an opportunity to miss. The highlight of the squash
calendar, the World Championships, seemed the perfect place to
honour the players who have performed best over the past year.
"On behalf of Eventis, we would like to thank Geoff Hunt, Azam Khan
and Hashim Khan for making the journey to Manchester to be at the
2008 World Squash Awards and for making the evening so memorable.
"I would like to personally thank Jim Quigley of Manchester City
Council for putting on a magnificent event in the World Squash
Championships and for his continued efforts to promote Squash. His
'Services to Squash' award was thoroughly deserved and I know he
will continue to work to push the sport in the right direction in
Manchester and be an example for all of the squash world to follow.
"Finally, thanks to Adrian Davies, our MC for the evening, who had
everyone relaxed and enjoying themselves from the first moment he
got up on stage."
Event Host
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World Squash
Awards 2008
THE NOMINATIONS
PSA Players of the Year 2008
PSA PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ramy Ashour
Amr Shabana
James Willstrop
PSA YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Aamir Atlas Khan
Omar Mosaad
Tarek Momen
The 2007
Awards
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WISPA Players of
the Year 2008
WISPA PLAYER OF YEAR
Nicol David (MAS)
Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
Madeline Perry (IRL)
Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)
Samantha Teran (MEX)
WISPA YOUNG PLAYER
Annie Au (HKG)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Heba El Torky (EGY)
Low Wee Wern (MAS)
Dipika Pallikal (IND)
WISPA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Delia Arnold (MAS)
Kasey Brown (AUS)
Louise Crome (NZL)
Line Hansen (DEN)
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) |
06-Sep-08:
World Squash Awards
set for Manchester
The world’s leading players will be honoured at the fourth annual
World Squash Awards which will take place in the stunning Manchester
Town Hall on Saturday 18th October, during The Hi-Tec World Squash
Championships – Manchester 2008.
Last year’s PSA Player of the Year
Amr Shabana and WISPA Player of the Year Nicol David will
be joined by the world’s top men and women who will be hoping to win
one of the sport’s most coveted awards.
Having reached seven PSA Tour Finals
in the past 12 months and reached number three in the World
Rankings, England’s James Willstrop will be one of the
favourites for the prestigious Male Player of the Year accolade,
while Malaysia’s David looks set to fact stiff competition to retain
her award from reigning World Champion Rachael Grinham from
Australia.
“We’re
delighted to be staging the World Squash Awards in conjunction with
The Hi-Tec World Squash Championships. This year’s Championships
will be a historic occasion with both the men’s and women’s World
Open’s being played out alongside each other for the first time ever
in England which provides the perfect platform for the awards.
“The standard in squash gets higher and higher every year with
incredible strength in depth in both the men’s and women’s games.
There are also many exciting youngsters coming through so it will be
fascinating to see who the winners will be this year.”
Director of Eventis
The glittering gala evening will be
hosted by former top player Adrian Davies and local Olympic
swimming medallist Steve Parry. Manchester’s Lord Mayor will
be among the 300 guests attending the awards ceremony which has
rapidly established itself as one of the off court highlights of the
squash calendar.
“Since
hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2002, Manchester has established
itself as one of the world’s premier sporting venues and we’re proud
to be the host venue for both the Championships and the Awards
ceremony. We have extremely strong links to squash with the National
Squash Centre being based here and this October’s Championships and
Awards will be a fitting tribute to the passion which the city has
for the sport.”
Head of Major
Sports Events and Partnerships,
Manchester City Council |
World Squash Awards
Hall of Fame
PSA Male Player of Year
2005 Thierry Lincou,
2006 and 2007 Amr Shabana
PSA Young Male Player of Year
2005 James
Willstrop,
2006 and 2007 Ramy Ashour
WISPA Female Player of Year
2005 Vanessa Atkinson,
2006 and 2007 Nicol David
WISPA Female Young
Player of the Year
2005 Raneem El Weleily,
2006 Tenille Swartz,
2007 Camille Scerme
WISPA Female Most
Improved Player of the Year
2005 Alison Waters,
2006 Nicolette Fernandes,
2007 Shelley Kitchen
Lifetime Achievement Award
2005 Jahangir,
2006 Jonah Barrington,
2007 Heather McKay
Information about the dinner, which will also see a special
presentation being made to Jahangir Khan, who is stepping
down as President of the World Squash Federation in October, is
available from Tim Garner at
Tgarner@eventis-sports.com
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World Squash Awards 2007
Friday 21st December
2006 & 2005 Awards |
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22-Dec-07:
It's Shabana & David again
Malaysia's Nicol David and Egyptian Amr Shabana were
named as Players of the Year at the 2007 World Squash Awards last
night in London.
A star-studded gathering, featuring top players past and present as
well as leading Squash figures from around the world, gathered at the
RAC Club in Pall Mall to honour the sport's most distinguished
contributors.
Shabana and David - both of whom head their respective world rankings
- were claiming the top awards for the second successive year.
Shabana, 28, from Giza, near Cairo, maintained his grip on the PSA
world number one ranking throughout the year - winning the Windy City
Open and Tournament of Champions titles at the beginning of 2007. He
rounded off the year in sensational style by reeling off four PSA
Super Series titles in a row - the Saudi International, Qatar Classic,
Hong Kong Open and then the World Open in Bermuda, to bring his career
PSA trophy haul to 20.
During a year in which she established a 50-match unbeaten run, Nicol
David surprisingly faltered in the World Open in Madrid. But the
plucky 24-year-old from Penang came back stronger than ever to win
both the Qatar Classic and Hong Kong Open - and bring her 2007 WISPA
World Tour title tally to eight, marking her best ever year. However,
despite being taken close by World Open winner Rachael Grinham, David
clinched the WISPA members' votes as Player of the Year for the third
year in a row!
Shelley Kitchen, the New Zealander who sensationally stopped
Nicol David in the second round of the World Open in Madrid, is
recognised as WISPA's Most Improved Player of the Year. The
28-year-old from Auckland followed her surprise Commonwealth Games
bronze medal success in 2006 by claiming four quarter-final berths in
WISPA Gold events early in 2007 as a non-seed - and, four Tour titles
later, Shelley went on to celebrate a career-high world No9 ranking in
November.
Egyptian Ramy Ashour is the PSA Young Player of the Year for
the second time. By the time he had celebrated his 20th birthday in
September, the record two-time world junior champion had already
picked up five PSA Tour titles in the year - all against seeding. In
the Kuwait Open final in April, Ramy beat Amr Shabana for the first
time - and in the November PSA world rankings, only failed by a margin
of one point in more than a thousand to replace his compatriot at the
top of the list!
Later in the year, in his first appearance in the event, Ramy won the
flagship PSA Tour championship, the Super Series Finals.
The award for WISPA Young Player of the Year went to Camille Serme,
the 18-year-old from France who followed her second successive
European Junior Championship win by reaching the final of the World
Junior Championship in Hong Kong in August. In November, Serme
celebrated her maiden Tour title win at the Santiago Open in Spain.
The 2007 World Squash Awards' Lifetime Achievement award was made to
Heather McKay, AM, MBE, the distinguished Australian who won 16
consecutive British Open titles between 1962 and 1977. Considered by
many to be the greatest female player in the history of the game, and
possibly also Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman, Heather dominated
the women's squash game in the 1960s and 1970s. She lost only two
matches in her entire career (in 1960 and 1962), and was unbeaten in
competitive squash matches from 1962 through to 1981, when she retired
from active open squash.
Mrs McKay was disappointed not to have been able to attend the Awards:
"I know the award has been awarded only twice before, to two of the
legends of squash, Jahangir Khan and Jonah Barrington, so I am
honoured to be the first female to receive this award," said McKay in
a message read out at the ceremony.
"As you may have already guessed, squash has been a major part of my
life having first started playing in 1959, winning my first major
championship The Australian in 1960 and eventually retiring from open
squash in 1981. I had no idea that when I had my first hit of squash I
would be lucky enough to travel the world and make friends world wide,
some of whom I still keep in touch with."
 A
special Services to Squash award was made to veteran squash
correspondent Dicky Rutnagur.
Widely believed to have seen more top class competition squash than
any other man alive, D.J. Rutnagur began covering the sport for the
Daily Telegraph at the time that Hashim Khan made his international
breakthrough - and has reported on all the sport's greats since then. |
PSA Player of the Year:
Amr Shabana
WISPA Player of the Year:
Nicol David
PSA Young Player of the Year:
Ramy Ashour
WISPA Young player of the Year:
Camille Serme
WISPA most improved player:
Shelley Kitchen
Lifetime Achievement:
Heather McKay
Services to Squash:
Dicky Rutnagur |
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 "I’m
sure you can imagine how delighted I am to receive this prize!
"It’s an immense reward that comes after a lot of efforts. I hope that
I’ll be able to go on on the same track, and not to disappoint you.
"I would like to thank all the people that have been supporting me, my
coach, my family, my friend, my boyfriend, and all the others… Without
them, I wouldn’t be who I am, and I couldn’t do it without them.
Thank you.
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The World Squash Awards
08 will be incorporated in to the Official Dinner
of the World open in Manchester on Saturday October 18th 2008. |
The Nominations:
PSA Male Player of the Year:
Ramy Ashour (EGY),
Gregory Gaultier (FRA), Amr Shabana (EGY)
Winner:
Amr Shabana
PSA Young Male Player of the
Year:
Ramy Ashour (EGY),
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY), Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Winner: Ramy Ashour
WISPA Female Player of the
Year:
Nicol David (MAS),
Natalie Grinham (AUS), Rachael Grinham (AUS), Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
Winner: Nicol David
WISPA Young Female Player of
the Year:
Annie Au (HKG), Heba El
Torky (EGY), Low Wee Wern (MAS), Maria Toor Pakay (PAK), Camille Serme
(FRA)
Winner: Camille Serme
WISPA Most Improved Female Player of the Year:
Emma Beddoes (ENG), Line
Hansen (DEN), Shelley Kitchen (NZL), Tenille Swartz (RSA), Samantha
Teran (MEX)
Winner: Shelley
Kitchen
Lifetime
Achievement award:
Heather McKay
Services to Squash award:
Dicky Rutnagur
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WSF Olympic Fundraiser Auction
1. Shabana & David signed print £80
2. Shabana World Open Final match ball £110
3. Two tickets to World Open Final 2008 £140
4. Hit on the Glass Court with Peter Nicol and Two tickets to Canary
Wharf Classic final 2008 £550
5. Shabana & Jahangir Bermuda shirt £120
Total Raised: £1,000 |
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14-Dec-07:
WSF Olympic Fundraiser Auction
To Be Held At World Squash Awards
A fund-raising auction to support Squash's Olympic ambitions is being
held at next week's World Squash Awards at the RAC Club in Pall
Mall, London, on Friday 21 December. The auction is being
organised on behalf of the World Squash Federation by event organisers
Eventis Sports Marketing,
The star items on offer include signed and framed photographs (5" X
7") of world number ones Nicol David and Amr Shabana
(double-sided); the match ball used in the recent Bermuda World
Open final, signed by winner Amr Shabana; 2 tickets to the final of
the World Open Manchester 2008; 2 tickets to the final of the
ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in London next year - plus a
hit on the glass court with Peter Nicol the four-time Commonwealth
Games gold medallist ; and a Bermuda World Open shirt, signed
by Jahangir Khan and Amr Shabana.
 "Squash has become an
integral part of the Olympic Movement in the past two decades," said
WSF President Jahangir Khan. "After achieving IOC recognition in 1986,
we started the long road towards inclusion in the Olympic Games.
"It is remarkable to realise that back in 1991, Squash was included in
the programme of just two Major Games. Fast-forward to 2007 and we are
now featured in over 20 such events, including the critically
important World Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Pan American
Games and World University Championships. Being featured in these 20
Major Games has allowed us to showcase our sport and establish key
relations with the Olympic Movement," Khan continued.
"Looking ahead, our sport meets all the criteria to be in the Olympic
Programme and after finishing first in the race to join London 2012,
we have been working very hard to put forward the best possible
proposal for 2016. The decision will be made at the IOC Session in
Copenhagen in October 2009. We must first be short-listed by the IOC
in April 2008.
"Your support will enable us to increase our activity. I hope you will
enjoy the Fund Raising auction. Thank you for your support."
WSF President
Bidding Rules:
Internet bids closed at 21.00 on Thu 20th, but bids will also
be asked for at the awards on the evening of the 21st. If the bids on
the night do not exceed the internet bid the internet bidder will take
the item.
The highest internet bidder will be contacted to ask if they have a
higher price which can be bid on their behalf should the bids in the
room exceed the internet bid (unfortunately phones are not allowed at
the RAC Club). Any higher bid will be used incrementally, and will not
be revealed to bidders in the room. |
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