Following gold medal success at the European Team Championships in April, Mohamed ElShorbagy is bursting with excitement for his World Team Championships debut with England later this month.
The championships, which take place in Tauranga, New Zealand from 11-17 December, will see Mohamed and brother Marwan make their World debut under the England flag after they switched allegiance from Egypt in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
With fond memories from his European success, Mohamed is hungry to bring back the World Team title for the first time in a decade.
“It would be unbelievable to win the World Teams,” said the former world no. 1. “I would put it right at the top of my achievements.”
“Throughout my career, I have wanted to win it. We're going to fight, do our best and hopefully get the results.”
“It's so exciting that it will be the first time for us to be teaming up together and do it for England - the country that has given us almost everything from schools to a university degree.”
The brothers will be wearing the England Squash kit with an extreme sense of pride.
“At the European’s, I felt I needed to give every ounce of me to the people who have helped and supported me.”
The winning final against France was considered by the team as one of the hotly contested finals they have been a part of, winning the last game by just two points.
“It was actually one of the best weeks I've ever had in my career,” he said. “It was so much fun being around the guys and being around the women’s team as well.”
The last World Teams event was in 2019, with England just falling short to Egypt in the final in a repeat of the 2017 final.
“Egypt has a lot of unbelievable players right now. But when you’re an underdog, it can make you more dangerous.”
And whilst facing the Egyptians would be a tough test, it’s one that Mohamed is prepared to face head on should the sides meet in Tauranga.
He concluded: “I'm at a stage in my career where I’m probably one of the most experienced players on tour, if not the most experienced player on tour.
“Maybe five, six, seven years ago, things would have gotten to me mentally, but right now I’ve kind of been through all the situations. The most important thing is that I know this is a normal thing”.
Mohamed attempts to stay stress-free by having a few days off before he arrives in New Zealand for the World’s, eyeing a crowning moment for his extraordinary 17-year career of 49 PSA Tour wins.
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