Squash or soccer? Egypt’s wild celebration after beating Kiwi Paul Coll stuns commentators



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Paul Coll has missed the Egyptian Open semi-finals after a spirited adventure in which his opponent’s sportsmanship was questioned for over-the-top celebrations.

Coll, the world number 5, lost the marathon match to Mostafa Asal, ranked 18, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 3-11, 10-12 on the glass court in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Mostafa Asal celebrates his victory over Paul Coll.

SCREENSHOT

Mostafa Asal celebrates his victory over Paul Coll.

The talented 19-year-old from Cairo continually blocked, questioned calls, displayed excessive emotion and was even warned for unsportsmanlike conduct during round-trip competition.

The Kiwi seemed poised to advance when they won Game 3 for a 2-1 lead, only for Asal to respond comfortably before Game 5 went to a tiebreaker.

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When Asal took the final point, he erupted in savage celebration, stripping off his shirt and hoodie and throwing it into the crowd.

“I don’t know if we are in the European Championship here or in a squash match,” said a puzzled commentator, comparing the reaction to a footballer scoring a goal.

Paul Coll blew a 2-1 lead to miss the semi-finals of the Egyptian Open.

PSA world tour

Paul Coll blew a 2-1 lead to miss the semi-finals of the Egyptian Open.

It almost ended in embarrassment for Asal when officials reviewed a possible obstruction at Coll.

But the point was ultimately held, allowing him to continue his exuberant celebration.

Earlier in the week, Joelle King also fell in a frenzied third-round match against Salma Hany.

The contest had a lot of body contact and was difficult to watch, with the referee forced to make 33 allow or hit decisions.

The couple even had some stern words for each other in the later stages. But Hany kept her focus to bounce back from losing the first two games to win 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.

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