Mahmoud Karim
Encyclopedia
Mahmoud el Karim was a squash
player from Egypt
. He won the British Open
men's title four consecutive times from 1947-1950.
and tennis
at the Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo
before discovering squash at the age of 15. He enjoyed it so much, that he came to devote all his time to the sport.
In 1947, Karim captured the British Open title for the first time. The 1947 final was the last occasion on which the British Open was decide in a best-of-three-matches contest between the two finalists. Karim beat Jim Dear
9-4, 9-1, 9-3 in the first match and 5-9, 7-9, 9-8, 9-7, 9-4 in the second match. In 1948 Karim again faced Dear in the British Open final, this time in a single match to determine the champion which Karim won 9-5, 9-3, 5-9, 1-9, 10-8. Karim then beat Brian Phillips in the 1949 final 9-4, 9-2, 9-10, 9-4. In 1950, Karim beat Abdul Bari of India
in the final 9-4, 9-2, 9-7.
Karim was also runner-up at the British Open in 1951 and 1952, losing in the final on both occasions to Pakistan
's Hashim Khan
.
, Canada
, and became a squash coach. He moved back to Egypt at the age of 72 and became Director of Squash at the Gezira Club.
Karim died on September 9, 1999 at the age of 83.
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
player from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He won the British Open
British Open Squash Championships
The British Open Squash Championships is the oldest and most established tournament in the game of squash. It is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious tournaments in the game, alongside the World Open The British...
men's title four consecutive times from 1947-1950.
Playing career
Karim first played golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
at the Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
before discovering squash at the age of 15. He enjoyed it so much, that he came to devote all his time to the sport.
In 1947, Karim captured the British Open title for the first time. The 1947 final was the last occasion on which the British Open was decide in a best-of-three-matches contest between the two finalists. Karim beat Jim Dear
Jim Dear
James "Jim" Dear was an English racquets, court tennis, and squash player who effectively won world titles in three different sports during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s....
9-4, 9-1, 9-3 in the first match and 5-9, 7-9, 9-8, 9-7, 9-4 in the second match. In 1948 Karim again faced Dear in the British Open final, this time in a single match to determine the champion which Karim won 9-5, 9-3, 5-9, 1-9, 10-8. Karim then beat Brian Phillips in the 1949 final 9-4, 9-2, 9-10, 9-4. In 1950, Karim beat Abdul Bari of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the final 9-4, 9-2, 9-7.
Karim was also runner-up at the British Open in 1951 and 1952, losing in the final on both occasions to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's Hashim Khan
Hashim Khan
Hashim Khan is a former squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open seven times between 1951 and 1958.Hashim Khan was born in Nawakille , a small village near Peshawar, in British India to an ethnic Pashtun family. The year of his birth is usually reported as 1916, though this has been...
.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Karim moved to MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and became a squash coach. He moved back to Egypt at the age of 72 and became Director of Squash at the Gezira Club.
Karim died on September 9, 1999 at the age of 83.