Reigning champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nicol David return to defend Hong Kong Open Crowns

Published 22/08/2016 at 10:04 GMT

Egyptian World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy and Malaysian eight-time World Champion Nicol David return to defend their titles at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, which will be shown live on Eurosport Player for the first time between August 23-28.

ElShorbagy and David Aiming to Repeat Hong Kong Heroics

Image credit: Eurosport

The World Series tournament will get the 2016/17 squash season off to an exciting start and is the first chance that the world’s top stars have of getting points on the board for the PSA Road to Dubai Standings – where only the top eight will qualify for the lucrative season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals.

ElShorbagy headlines the Men’s draw and is coming off the back of a superb 2015/16 campaign that saw the hard-hitting 25-year-old capture six out of seven World Series titles, including the 2015 iteration of the Hong Kong Open where he beat surprise finalist Cameron Pilley to take the crown for a second successive year.

The man from Alexandria will face strong competition from World Champion Gregory Gaultier, who bowed out at the quarter-final stage last year after a shock defeat to Australian No.1 Pilley.

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A spell on the sidelines then followed for the Frenchman, before he returned to top form in May, winning the World Series Finals after exacting revenge on Pilley.

The man Gaultier beat in the World Championship final, Omar Mosaad, and fan favourite Miguel Angel Rodriguez are also in action in a world-class field, with the pair seeded to meet Gaultier and ElShorbagy, respectively, in the semi-final.

David, meanwhile, will be looking to win an incredible 11th successive Women’s Hong Kong Open crown after an unprecedented decade of success that has seen the former World No.1 go 50 matches unbeaten at this tournament.

The Penangite, who turns 33 mid-way through the tournament, defeated World No.2 Laura Massaro in last year’s final and is on the same side of the draw to the Englishwoman, with a mouth-watering potential semi-final clash in the offering.

Current World No.1 and World Champion Nour El Sherbini is the undoubted favourite though after a stunning 2016 elevated her to the summit of the World Rankings and she could be pitted against compatriot Raneem El Welily, a losing finalist in 2011 and 2013, if both players make it to the last four.

Draw – First Round: Men’s Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open 2016

[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Chris Simpson (ENG)

Leo Au (HKG) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)

Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [Qualifier]

Borja Golan (ESP) v [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [Qualifier]

Tom Richards (ENG) v James Willstrop (ENG)

Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v [Qualifier]

[WC] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)

[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [Qualifier]

Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)

Tarek Momen (EGY) v Simon Rösner (GER)

[Qualifier] v [6] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)

[8] Ali Farag (EGY) v [Qualifier]

Max Lee (HKG) v [Qualifier]

Fares Dessouky (EGY) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)

[Qualifier] v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)

Draw – First Round: Women’s Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open 2016

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v Heba El Torky (EGY)

[Qualifier] v [11] Annie Au (HKG)

[10] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [Qualifier]

Line Hansen (DEN) v [8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)

[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Joey Chan (HKG)

Victoria Lust (ENG) v [12] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)

[16] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v Donna Urquhart (AUS)

Rachael Grinham (AUS) v [3] Raneem El Welily (EGY)

[4] Nicol David (MAS) v [Qualifier]

[Qualifier] v [9] Joelle King (NZL)

[14] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [WC] Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)

Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) v [6] Camille Serme (FRA)

[5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [Qualifier]

[Qualifier] v [13] Alison Waters (ENG)

[15] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [Qualifier]

[Qualifier] v [2] Laura Massaro (ENG)

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