World No.1 Nouran Gohar booked her spot in the final of the SmartCentres PSA Squash Tour Finals after seeing off the threat of Japan’s Satomi Watanabe with a 2-1 victory.
Gohar had beaten Watanabe in all five of their previous meetings on the PSA Squash Tour and stormed out of the traps to take the game to her opponent. Watanabe did come back towards the end of the game but couldn’t overturn Gohar’s significant cushion.
Watanabe – the first Japanese player ever to appear in the last four of this tournament – responded in the second and looked to lengthen the rallies and use the back of the court more on the forehand side. She was soon rewarded with the second game after pulling away from 6-6.
However, Gohar adjusted her tactics and a quick lead in the third game sapped the momentum from the Japanese player, with Gohar running away with things to set up a final clash with USA’s Olivia Weaver.
What Gohar had to say…
“She played well today and I was happy to get tested before the final,” said Gohar afterwards.
“It’s going to be a big final and I think I need to make some tweaks for tomorrow. I’m happy I dug deep and found a way, even if it wasn’t the best squash.
“This season I only had half a season and I missed being on tour. This year I’ve played around 13 tournaments and have been getting into the final of every single event aside from the World Championships. There have been ups and downs, mainly ups, and I’m very proud of my season.
“There were a few things that didn’t go my way, but I couldn’t really ask for a better season.
Speaking about her biggest rivals – Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hammamy – missing the tournament through injury, Gohar said: “People were saying it’s an easy event for Gohar, but it’s not like that. You still need to bring the intensity you always do, and I’ve had a couple of events where they haven’t been playing, so I’m used to it.”
Result
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [4] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 2-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-4 (38m)
