As LA 2028 draws nearer and curiosity about its new sports intensifies, we're certain to hear a familiar question from the uninitiated public: how are Egypt so good at squash?
The top four in the current women's rankings are all Egyptian, as is the current men's no.1 and nine of the last 11 men's world champions. Egypt have won six of the last seven men's World Team Championships and six of the last eight women's. It's not outrageous to suggest that there could be a strong Egyptian presence on the podium at Universal Studios in three summers' time.
Theories have been posited about this extraordinary hegemony ever since Amr Shabana kickstarted it in 2006 by becoming the first Egyptian world no.1 of the professional era.
But one of the most articulate and fascinating insights Squash Player has heard came recently from one of the country's new generation of stars, who looks set to extend the Egyptian stranglehold on world squash for many more years.
Adam Hawal, a likeable 17-year-old from Cairo, has grown up in the relentless talent factory that is the Egyptian junior squash system.
Hawal will head to the British Junior Open (BJO) in early January as a very strong contender (possibly top seed) for the prestigious boys' U19 competition, often a precursor to future professional greatness.
While most countries select their squad of players for the BJO from a small pool, Egypt organise an entire series of qualifying tournaments over several months to whittle down their team. Competition is utterly fierce.
"In Egypt, the British Junior Open is something we kill each other on court to play in," explains Hawal. "They are killing themselves on every point. There is so much intensity that you can't believe it.
"Just imagine that you're aiming for a place that another 300 kids are also aiming for, and they're all doing the same amount of training. It's incomprehensible to me how much Egyptians train, especially the younger ones.
"Players my age are now old enough for our bodies to handle this amount of training. But we've all been doing this since aged nine or 10. Some cannot handle it, but that's why the best players in the world are from Egypt. That's what gives Egyptians this big gap over the others.
"When Egyptians play other countries... it's not cockiness, we just know that we have trained harder. What defines the best in Egypt is his confidence that he has trained harder than anybody."
What motivates this remarkable dedication? Both carrot and stick, it would seem. Let's start with the carrot.
Hawal has grown up at the famous Wadi Degla Squash Academy in Cairo led by former world no.1 Karim Darwish and supported by coaches who have worked (and still work) with the best in the world.
"We have so many juniors from the past who are now coaches, so they know the secrets and are passing them down," reveals Hawal.
"As juniors, we are training next to Ali Farag and Hania El Hammamy. Just think about how amazing that is! We are seeing the quality of squash, how they move, think and train. Everything triggers something in your mind and all you want to do is copy them. The level of squash is so high it's unbelievable."
And now, the stick. Anyone who's watched international junior squash in person will understand that Egyptian squash parents and coaches are a little different.
Imagine the hot house of packed Egyptian junior competitions in which there are routinely 256-player draws and yet coming second is regarded as failure. It can be brutal and no doubt damaging to wellbeing and mental health, but that's the culture.
"The main goal of being the best junior is pleasing my parents," says Hawal. "They are sitting there at every single practice, saying what you're doing wrong, telling me how to manage my time, how to think on court, how to control my feelings, everything. I don't think other countries have the same parenting as Egypt.
"Egyptian juniors are the best because of the parents. They are pushing and supporting you to do more in every shot and every practice. Every junior in Egypt has either their mother or father or both pushing them and motivating them."
Hawal and hundreds of other juniors combine daily training and competitions with academic studies. Hawal traveled to Pakistan and India for PSA tournaments before heading to Birmingham in January, but is expected to study whilst on the road as he targets a university degree in engineering next year.
"I am trying to keep my level as an A student which alongside my squash is hard, but it's worth it," he states. "It is a very hard balance. I take my laptop to tournaments. Obviously I miss classes, but I take all my notes and study hard for the exams.
"My dream job was an astronaut, but I realised they don't have squash courts in space!"
Hawal shot to fame in September when he entered the Egyptian Open as a local wildcard and, incredibly, beat world no.3 Paul Coll in the second round in what was labelled one of the biggest upsets in professional squash history.
His reflections on the achievement and the publicity that followed are self-deprecating, perhaps echoing the reaction of his parents and coaches.
"Sure, I got confidence from it but I need to keep building," he says. "It was a good match I played but I need to stay focused and hungry. I learned from it that anything can happen. When you are working hard and believe in yourself, you often get what you deserve."
The spotlight could fall on him again in early January at what will be the 100th edition of the British Junior Open in Birmingham. Having reached the BJO U17 final in the last two years but had his attempts hindered by hip and ankle injuries respectively, he feels he has "unfinished business" at the event.
"The British Junior Open is really important to me," he says. "This will be my fourth time and I was unlucky in the last three.
"I know that I have more to offer. I hope to God I get the title on my fourth try, but I am in my first year of U19, so if not, I'll still have a fifth."
With the might of the Egyptian system and culture behind him, plus bagfuls of talent and dedication, he is certain to have many more opportunities for glory ahead.
