Doha, September 12 (QNA) - The 2026 QTerminals Qatar Classic squash tournament for men and women got underway on Saturday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, with the Qatar Squash Federation hosting an event featuring all of the world's top-ranked men and women. The tournament runs through Sept. 18.

The opening round of the main draws featured intense competition, excitement and several surprises.

Egypt's Mostafa Asal, the world No. 1, began his campaign with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller, winning 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.

Asal will face another Swiss player, Yannick Wilhelmi, in the second round on Sunday. Wilhelmi advanced after rallying from two games down to defeat Scotland's Greg Lobban, 3-2, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8.

New Zealand's Paul Coll, the world No. 2 and defending champion, also advanced to the second round with a comfortable 3-0 victory over India's Veer Chotrani, 11-2, 11-3, 11-1.

Coll will next face Switzerland's Dimitri Steinmann, who defeated India's Abhay Singh, 3-0, 11-7, 11-9, 14-12.

The biggest upset of the opening day saw Peru's Diego Elias, the world No. 3 and a two-time Qatar champion in 2021 and 2024, eliminated after losing to American Timothy Brownell, 3-2. Brownell won 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7.

Egypt's Karim Abdel Gawad, the world No. 4 and 2014 Qatar champion, advanced by defeating Qatar's Abdulla Al Tamimi, who was returning from injury, 3-1, 11-7, 15-13, 5-11, 11-8.

Speaking to the Qatar News Agency, Al Tamimi said he was pleased to compete in Saturday's opening round of the 2026 QTerminals Qatar Classic after receiving a wild card from the tournament's organizing committee following his lengthy absence because of injury.

Competing today against one of the world's leading players, Karim Abdel Gawad, was extremely valuable preparation ahead of my participation with the national team at the 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, in Japan, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, Al Tamimi said.

Al Tamimi added that he would seek to win a medal for Qatar at the Asian Games and would continue a domestic training camp with his national-team teammates before traveling to Japan.

Also speaking to QNA, Karim Abdel Gawad thanked the tournament's organizing committee for an ideal event and wished Qatar's squash players success and medals at the Asian Games in Japan.

He said the Qatar Classic is one of the major tournaments in squash and that he would seek to advance deep into the competition, expressing hope of winning the title for a second time.

Among the key results of the opening day of the 2026 QTerminals Qatar Classic squash tournament, France's Victor Crouin, the No. 5 seed, defeated Egypt's Fares Dessouky, 3-0, winning 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.

Egypt's Mohamed Zakaria, a three-time world junior champion, also defeated Germany's veteran Raphael Kandra, 3-1, winning 11-4, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5.

England's Marwan ElShorbagy, the No. 7 seed, beat Spain's Bernat Jaume, 3-0, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.

France's Baptiste Masotti defeated Colombia's Juan Vargas, 3-2, while Egypt's Mohamed Abouelghar beat England's Declan James, 3-0.

In the women's competition, Egypt's Hania El Hammamy, the world No. 1, began her title defense with a 3-1 victory over compatriot Hana Moataz.

The No. 2 seed, Amina Orfi, defeated fellow Egyptian Hana Ramadan, 3-0.

No. 3 seed Nour El Sherbini, the 2024 champion, also advanced to the second round with a 3-1 victory over compatriot Nada Abbas.

Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam, the No. 4 seed, defeated Egypt's Sana Ibrahim, 3-1.

The opening day also featured a strong return by Egypt's Nouran Gohar, the No. 5 seed, who had been sidelined for five months. She advanced to the second round with a 3-0 victory over compatriot Kenzy Ayman. Egypt's Malak Khafagy defeated Malaysia's Aira Azman, 3-2.

Rising Indian player Anahat Singh, the world junior champion, produced an upset in the women's draw by defeating Egypt's Farida Mohamed, the world No. 16, 3-2. Fayrouz Aboelkheir also defeated fellow Egyptian Nadine El Hammamy, 3-0.

Malaysia's Aifa Azman defeated American Marina Stefanoni, the world No. 14, 3-1. (QNA)