New Zealand squash pro Paul Coll has lost to reigning world champion Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt in the quarter-finals of the British Open .
The two-time winner and current world No 1 was forced to play for over an hour for his victory against Coll who sits at No 10 in the rankings.
Elshorbagy took the first, before Coll, competing in his first British Open quarter-final, gained momentum to take the match to the top seed and level the scores in the second.
The third game proved decisive for Elshorbagy, as both players pushed themselves to their limits. The Egyptian just edged it on the tie-break, before battling on to take the match 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 in a bruising encounter.
Elshorbagy was quick to praise his Kiwi opponent after a match,
"What Paul has been doing in his career is very inspirational," said 27-year-old.
"He has come from a place where there is no-one to inspire him from his generation and he has fought his way through.
"The way we pushed each other, it was such a high-quality match and I just wish him the best of luck, because it is great for the tour to have him playing so well."
Newshub.
