ZIMBABWE men’s squash champion Ryan Gwidzima produced a strong showing at the Mossel Bay Diaz Open PSA Challenger Tour in South Africa but bowed out in the semi-finals after a hard-fought loss to Egypt’s Ahmed Said Sobhy on Saturday.
Second seed Gwidzima (20) went down 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 3-11, 8-11 to third seed Sobhy (23) in a gruelling 79-minute, five-set battle.
Sobhy, ranked 201 on the PSA world rankings, went on to clinch the title after upsetting top seed Damian Groenwald of South Africa 11-2, 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12 in a tightly contested final on Sunday.
The Bulawayo-born Gwidzima, ranked 178 globally, had cruised into the semi-finals, dismissing South Africa’s Luke van Vuuren 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 in just 35 minutes in the opening round. He followed that with a solid quarter-final performance, overcoming Pakistan’s Anas Khan 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 in 46 minutes.
The Mossel Bay event marked another step forward in Gwidzima’s steady progress on the professional circuit.
Since turning professional, he has shown marked improvement in both consistency and competitiveness. His previous PSA outings include the Tunbridge Wells Open and London Open in England, and the Men’s Assore Johannesburg Open, where he made second-round appearances but fell to strong international competition.
Meanwhile, fellow Zimbabwean Callum Lawton, seeded eighth, exited the tournament in the first round after losing 6-11, 7-11, 5-11 to South Africa’s Dean Venter, who later fell in the quarter-finals to eventual finalist Groenwald.
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