Egypt’s men followed up the success of their women’s team with a combative win over rivals England in the final of the WSF World Squash Team Championship at Hong Kong Football Club, the first edition of the competition to feature men’s and women’s events simultaneously.

Today’s string order of 3-1-2 meant that Egypt’s World No.5 Mazen Hesham went up against England’s World No.35 Curtis Malik in the first match of the evening, as Egypt aimed to beat England in four consecutive finals.

Malik, however, came out at breathtaking pace, playing some of the best squash of his career to date as he took the game to Hesham, forcing the Egyptian onto the back foot with an 11-4 win.

Hesham saved game ball to level the scores with a 13-11 win in game two, but looked uncomfortable, and Malik regained the lead with a dominant 11-6 win.

Hesham played his best game of the final in game four, finally consistently beating Malik’s defences with a combination of patient play and some of his trademark skill to level the scores again 11-6.

Game five was a tense battle, with Malik and Hesham putting on a real show for the watching crowd.

Despite a heroic effort from Malik, Hesham was able to make the telling contribution, finally giving his side the lead with an 11-8 victory.

“It was very intense,” Hesham admitted afterwards.

“Curtis played amazing today and I’ve never seen him play this way. It was a big test for me, mentally and physically, as anything he was playing was going his way and I had to fight so hard. I thank my team for standing by me and supporting me and having the confidence in me. I’m so happy to put my team ahead hopefully the boys can finish the job off.”

The second match pitted familiar foes Ali Farag and Mohamed ElShorbagy against each other, with Egypt’s World No.1 Farag describing Alexandria-born ElShorbagy as “the greatest rival of my career” ahead of this year’s championships.

Ahead of the match, although the head-to-head record between them was a close one, with Farag winning 18 and ElShorbagy 15, recent results had gone the Egyptian’s way, with Farag winning the last six meetings.

ElShorbagy, who produced his best performance of the championships in a spectacular semi-final win over Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann last night, picked up where he left off, leaving Farag reeling with a barrage of powerful attacks to take the first game 11-6.

Farag, who endured a torrid start before eventually recovering against France’s Victor Crouin yesterday, kicked into gear in an even second game, which he clinched by the barest of margins to restore parity.

The Egyptian continued to grow into the match in game three, pushing up the court more confidently and putting work into ElShorbagy’s legs as he moved into the lead and within a game of Egypt’s second title of the night with an 11-8 win.

In an epic conclusion, ElShorbagy put everything into it as he attempted to rescue the situation, with he and Farag exchanging numerous frenetic rallies.

Eventually, though, the brutal battle took its toll on the Englishman, and Farag pounced to earn his team the title, with the World No.1 vaulting the back wall in a dramatic departure from his usual stoicism.

“It feels amazing to create history with team Egypt. Nothing feels better than representing your country and I love wearing this t-shirt and I love sharing this moment with some of the best players ever who have graced the squash court. I can’t be happier really and it’s one of the happiest moments of my career,” Farag said afterwards.

Result: WSF World Squash Team Championship Men’s Final

[1] Egypt 2-0 [2] England
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 4-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8 (63m)
Ali Farag (EGY) bt Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 (50m)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) w/d Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG)