Mohamed El Shorbagy, winner of the first Colombian squash open in Cartagena.
Egyptians dominate 2016 Squash Colombia Open in Cartagena
The squash talents of the men from the land of the Pharaohs were on full display as world number one Mohamed El-Shorbagy defeated compatriot Omar Mosaad in the final of the highly anticipated 2016 Squash Colombia Open tournament, which concluded in Cartagena on February 20.
The Egyptian domination was impressive as they filled all four semi-final spots at the event. Colombian number one and world number six, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, lost to Marwan El-Shorbagy in the quarter-final round.
The partisan local crowd were justifiably pleased with Rodríguez’s fine play in the first set, which he won 11-5. However, El-Shorbagy took victory in the next three sets. The final score 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 confirmed his win in a pulsating 59 minute encounter. Despite his personal disappointment, Rodríguez described the prestigious event as “a dream come true”, proclaiming that “it will go down in history and we hope to do much more”.
Indoor Cycling WC
Fernando Gaviria defended his Omnium title at the Track Cycling World Championships in London. The 21 year old cyclist blamed nerves after several months away from the track for the bad start in the six event discipline race.
After the tenth place in the scratch race, Gaviria recorded two victories, two second places and an eight spot; enough to claim the title for the second consecutive year.
IndyCar opening race
The IndyCar Series is about to show the green lights for the 2016 season. With the opening race set for March 13 in St Petersburg, Florida, Juan Pablo Montoya is aiming for this year’s title for Team Penske after finishing in second place last year and Carlos Muñoz in the Andretti Autosport team will be looking to improve on his eighth spot in the 2014 IndyCar campaign.
For 2015 Rookie of the Year Gabby Chaves, the pre-season was not as he wished for. The 22 year-old racer from Bogotá saw a vital sponsor pull out of his team, Bryan Herta Autosport, three weeks before the start of the season. The team emerged with Andretti Autosport for financial reasons, but a seat was not available for the talented Colombian.
Chaves might still be able to compete as stand in for Mikhail Aleshin in the Schmidt Peterson team. The Russian racer has encountered visa problems and Chaves is replacing him in the test races.
Tennis doubles team rising to top
The Colombian doubles tennis team formed by Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal climbed to third place on the 2016 World Ranking Race to London. The Colombian duo had a good start to the year with tournament victories in the ATP 250 tournament of Buenos Aires and the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
In search for qualification for the ATP tour finals in London at the end of the year, the team from Cali will continue in the Indian Wells Masters tournament.
