Kiwi squash star Paul Coll has been beaten in the 2020 Qatar Classic final, losing to defending champion and world No.1 Ali Farag on Sunday (NZ time).
Farag won 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 in 61 minutes to extend his winning run over the New Zealander to 13 matches.
After dropping the first game, Coll battled back to draw level, but Farag recovered from a 4-0 deficit to take the third before moving up a gear to seal victory in the fourth game.
For Coll, it was another frustrating experience in Qatar following his defeat to another Egyptian, Tarek Momen, in the World Championship final 12 months ago, in what was his 23rd Professional Squash Association final and his second Platinum title match.
"It's a tough feeling at the moment," says Coll. "I'm obviously very happy to reach another final here in Qatar, it's a great tournament and a fantastic location.
"I always love coming here and I've played well here year in, year out. I wanted it pretty bad today but fell short. It's a tough one to swallow, but Ali is World No.1 for a reason and he played the end of every game very well, so well done to Ali."
With the victory, Ali became only the fourth man in Qatar Classic history to win the title twice, following in the footsteps of current world No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy and the now-retired Karim Darwish and Peter Nicol.
"The first time I couldn’t believe it and this time around I can’t believe it even more," says Ali.
"When I was younger, I used to watch the Qatar Classic and see all the great names of our sport lifting that trophy, and I could only imagine standing there one day.
"To do it twice is an amazing feeling."
The next tournament for Coll is the CIB Black Ball Open in December in Cairo.
