King and ElShorbagy crowned Hong Kong Open squash champions

World No.7 King has lifted the first PSA World Tour Platinum trophy of her career after a sublime performance from the 30-year-old saw her defeat World No.2 and 2017 runner-up Raneem El Welily by an 11-4, 12-10, 19-17 scoreline.

The Kiwi dominated proceedings in the opening game and was able to see out the second on the tie-break to put one hand on the trophy. El Welily – who will become World No.1 on December 1 – came out firing in a captivating third game as she looked to avoid defeat in the final of this tournament for a fourth time.

But it was King who came out on top to capture the 12th PSA Tour title of her career, while she becomes the first New Zealander since Carol Owens at the Tournament of Champions in 2003 to win a Platinum tournament.

Meanwhile, men’s World No.1 ElShorbagy has captured his fourth Hong Kong Open title after dismantling World No.2 Ali Farag 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in a repeat of last year’s final.

ElShorbagy and Farag had shared the spoils from the first two Platinum events of the season, with ElShorbagy winning October’s U.S. Open and Farag triumphing at the Qatar Classic earlier this month.

But ElShorbagy was a class apart in Hong Kong as he powered to the 35th PSA title of his career – a total sees him move up to joint eighth in the all-time PSA title winners list, level with the legendary Nick Matthew.

ElShorbagy and King both take home almost $23,000 in prize money after the Hong Kong Open this year became the final joint Platinum event to commit to equal prize money.

The next Platinum tournament live on Eurosport Player will be the CIB Black Ball Squash Open which takes place in Cairo between December 3-9.

Result – Men’s Final: 2018 Everbright Sun Hung Kai Hong Kong Squash Open
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [2] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (39m)
Result – Women’s Final: 2018 Everbright Sun Hung Kai Hong Kong Squash Open
[5] Joelle King (NZL) bt [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 19-17 (48m)