|
Read Review <back
to archive
|
Trading Secrets: Squash Greats Recall Their Toughest Duels by Rod Gilmour
Release date: 01st November, 2015
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
List Price: Ł12.99
Our Price: Ł12.08
You Save: Ł0.91 (7%)
Buy Now
|
ONE for the connoisseurs of the squash court and also anyone who enjoys a liberal dose of human drama and humour, this thoroughly readable compilation does what it says on the tin.
Thereâs the classic race against time in a chapter entitled From Hospital Bed to Glasgow Gold â featuring Sheffieldâs Nick Matthew, who pipped bitter rival James Willstrop for the Commonwealth Games title in 2014.
Matthew embarked on a breathless six-week recovery programme following surgery, commandeering Jessica Ennis-Hillâs coveted English Institute of Sport âgame-readyâ knee-icing machine because âshe was heavily pregnant... and didnât really need hers!â
Deeply honoured to be Team Englandâs flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, Matthew was accompanied by his loyal physio Jade, carrying a seat, so he could rest âevery time we walked 10 metres as we wedged towards Celtic Park... I think some of the athletes behind me thought I was some kind of diva!â
Both the author and respected coach Malcolm Willstrop are in awe of Ramy Ashour.
Gilmour lauds: âThe finest rackets player I have ever seenâ and Willstrop, in his foreword, describes the Egyptian as âthe most original player ever to have livedâ.
Once asked in a video interview to reveal something ânewâ of himself, Ashour countered the intrusion with the banality it deserved. âI used to eat dust off the balcony when I was young,â he said.
âIt doesnât mean itâs healthy and it doesnât improve your drop shots or your lobs, Iâve stopped now.â
Itâs impossible not to warm to Ashour in Ramyâs Resurrection as he beats Mohamed âThe Beastâ Elshorbagy to win the 2014 World Championship in Doha, despite preparation plagued by injury.
Squash, more than a game? It is to the handsome 28-year-old from Cairo, who says: âIt teaches you discipline and commitment, self-respect, humility â all of which you can use in your social life.â
|
<back to archive
|
|


|