Squash star Asal using Hong Kong success as fuel following ban, targets repeat glory and improved discipline
- Mostafa Asal re-watched dramatic 2022 Hong Kong Open final as pick-me-up during long ban from squash, with title defence beginning on Tuesday
- Combative Egyptian says reliving his win over Diego Elias ‘made me feel good’, but ‘something needs to be fixed’ after disciplinary scrapes
Egyptian star Mostafa Asal begins his Hong Kong Squash Open title defence on Tuesday – after watching reruns of his thrilling 2022 final victory to counter low moments during a recent 12-week ban.
World No 3 Asal recovered from two games down to beat Diego Elias in a fractious championship match 12 months ago.
The gifted 22-year-old is a two-time World Championship semi-finalist, but his embryonic career has been tainted by multiple brushes with authority.
On-court transgressions landed him a two-month suspension in January 2022, and 14 months later Asal was hit with a six-week ban after being found guilty of dangerous play at the Egyptian Open.
His subsequent 12-week exile, which ended in October, was punishment for a succession of disciplinary infringements in matches at this year’s World Championship in Chicago.
“When there is a period of time you are feeling down, watching back moments when you were successful motivates you, it makes you feel good again,” Asal told the Post.