*The feature first appeared in issue 24.2 of Squash Player Magazine*
“This is just the beginning.”
Those are the words of 2024 PSA World Champion Nouran Gohar when asked what the future has in store after she finally captured the title that she has for so long coveted.
The Egyptian had lost out in the sport’s biggest match on the past three consecutive occasions – each time coming up short against compatriot Nour El Sherbini, the seven-time World Champion.
In 2019, her first time in the worlds finale, Gohar fell foul to nerves. In 2021, as the best player in the world, it was a case of over-burdening herself with expectations. In 2022, she was simply out-played.
But 2024 was, finally, Gohar’s year. And having added the British Open title to her name in her first event since that World Championship crown, it does indeed look like Gohar’s best is still to come.
“The main feeling I had after winning the World Championships was relief,” said Gohar.
“I’ve done a lot in my career, but I felt like not winning a World Championship would have been a shame. It was something I badly wanted, and I felt like if I could win one it would make me satisfied.
“But the surprising thing is that it has actually made me hungrier. Which I didn’t expect.
“Obviously I’m feeling very happy and very grateful for the achievement. I’m over the moon, but I’m feeling hungry as well. It made me feel like I’m addicted to winning.
“The day after the final I woke up and the first thing I did was look at the practice sheet for the British Open – which was 10 days in the future. I never expected to have that sort of feeling.”
History has shown that for many, accomplishing the greatest single feat in the game has been followed by a drop in performance. Winning the biggest title has for some, been the source of great introspection – creating a rift in the athletes’ laser-like vision targeted on success.
When you’ve won the game’s biggest title – in a similar fashion to reaching the summit of the world rankings – it can lead to a loss in purpose. Where the British Open, coming just a week after that World Championship, would have been seen as an inconvenience for many, for Gohar it represented something else.
It represented the start of a new phase.
“Having the British Open straight after made me switch off a bit from winning – in some ways it has made me stay focused,” she said.
“I feel like I will celebrate the win at the World Championship more at the very end of the season, during the off season. But knowing that the British Open was coming up, which is the biggest event after the World Championship, I didn’t want to lose focus. I still want to end on a very high note at the end of the season.
“I have had different phases in my career. I had the phase of being the underdog, where you have nothing to lose and you can see the fear in the eyes of the other players as well. When I was 18 and playing some of the legends of the game – Laura, Nicol, Camille etc – they didn’t know what to expect from me and you could sense the edge they had at times because they obviously didn’t want to lose against me.
“Then, when I got to World No.2 I started having this fear of losing, and it was a very uncomfortable feeling to have on court. I felt that way for nearly three years. I started losing to people I shouldn’t, ranking wise. Where the pressure was almost too much.
“Now, I feel like it’s the perfect mix. I have the experience now, but I’ve achieved everything I wanted to, so I’m not afraid to lose something now. But I actually want to perform more. I feel like I have more in me and I’m not afraid to get it out and to express myself. So I think that’s the best feeling you can have on court.”
That new found freedom and confidence was in abundance as Gohar swept through the draw at the the British Open. A comprehensive win over Gina Kennedy in the quarters was followed by a demolition of her fearsome rival Hania El Hammamy in the semifinals.
Gohar’s recent encounters against El Hammamy have been feisty affairs, strewn with refereeing decisions and obvious distaste – but this time was different. It hinted that, perhaps, with the monkey of the world title off her shoulder, Gohar is indeed more care-free on court.
Her 3-2 defeat of El Sherbini in the British Open final the following day, where on multiple occasions it looked like she was sure to face defeat, again hinted at a new found ease.
“I think winning the World Championships has taken the pressure off me in some ways,” she added.
“During the past few years I’ve been told that I should be winning the Worlds. I could see it in the eyes of everyone as well – and people talk about you winning, about you being in form, being the person expected to win. But I didn’t win it on those occasions.
“Every single time I reached the final, it was a different situation. The very first time I reached the final in Chicago with El Sherbini, it was my first time reaching the final having lost in the semi-finals for three straight years. So it was a big step for me to get to the final and I think the occasion of being in the World Championship final, I didn’t deal with it very well and she took advantage of it.
“But I felt like, okay, now I know how it is to be playing the final, so then the second time in 2021 we were playing at the National Museum in Egypt. I was World No.1 and I think I won four platinum events back to back. I had reached the final in every event I had played that season and everyone was talking about me winning the world championship – that that’s was my year.
“It was as if I was the defending champion, and I didn’t realise it then, but it was so much pressure on me. During that final, I was one love up, and maybe five-one in the second game and I just shut down.
“I think that was the most painful loss I had becauseI was so close, I was the favourite, and I felt like I should have won that. But I didn’t have the experience, I didn’t have the nerves – I lacked so many things, not in terms of squash, but in terms of dealing with the situation.
“I felt like I had a great season that year, but it ended in a really bad way.
“Then the third year, which was last year in Chicago. Obviously, I had this big match against Hania in the semi-finals, it was a huge five-game battle, and there were a lot of emotions afterwards – but in the final I was was completely flat physically and mentally. That was probably the worst final I played in my career.
“So to win it this year, I think it took away some pressure.”
Having started this season suffering a tear in her plater fasciitis which ultimately ruled her out for three months, Gohar’s return to form was as much unexpected as it was admirable.
After stuttering back to competition at the Tournament of Champions and Winds City Open, she found her form at the Black Ball Open and El Gouna International events to go into the World Championships on the back of two consecutive titles.
The World Championship made it three, a week later the British Open made it four in a row – a run that also saw Gohar pick up the Player of the Year award.
While the gap to El Sherbini at World No.1 remains large, if Gohar keeps her current form up, she could well end the calendar year as World No.1, World Champion and British Open champion – the holy grail for any player.
“I didn’t start the season great. I was injured and I didn’t play for a few months – which in many ways I think helped because I was maybe a little burnt out after the last few seasons,” she said.
“That injury break helped me re-asses, re-focus and I came back in good form winning at Black Ball and El Gouna prior to the World Championships. But I was still in some ways the underdog going into the event.
“I was really bad at accepting losing in general, because I think of this pressure, and something that I learned from a lot of very good players in squash and other athletes, is that when you start accepting the losing part, that’s when you get better, because you accept the fact that this is going to happen.
“It took so much energy and so much time out of me to accept losing in general, that it it actually affected me in the winning part. I think now, that pressure has a gone a little, and that will hopefully help me become a better player in general.
“I’m not thinking about the outcome, because that’s again unnecessary pressure. Now I’m just thinking about what can I do to evolve? I’m not thinking about another player. I’m not thinking about if I go into this match, I’m going to win or lose. I’m not thinking about this at all.
“I just want to perform better than the day before.
“But it doesn’t mean that I’m satisfied. No, it’s the complete opposite. Winning the world championship has made me hungrier, but I’m freer as well.”
