Folks, I'd like to share one comment for everyone claiming that Asal's made an egregious movement into Farag's line. Take a look at the 5s mark in the video. Farag hit a poor shot (Asal is cutting it off right at the back of the service box). Farag also got slightly deceived and thought that Asal hit a cross court (you'll see him twitch to the left, and then adjust to the right, thereby delaying his initial reaction). Asal, like every other squash player (pro or amateur), pushes off his shot to recover to the 'T'. Farag's slight mis-read and delay caused him to move late to the ball. Asal returned to the 'T' as he normally would - notice that when contact is make, he's in line with the back of the service box, and his feet are side by side, and his body is facing the front wall. He isn't sideways, he didn't stick one foot out in front of the other to trip Farag. In fact, it was Farag's slight mis-read of Asal's shot that caused the delay in his movement, which allowed Asal to get closer to the 'T' (although he was still quite far back), thus resulting in contact. Please note, I am a massive fan of Ali Farag - I love his attitude, his style of play, his temperament, and really everything about him as a squash player. He's someone I admire and strive to emulate both on and off the court. That being said, Asal is a fantastic player, and one whose skill, ability, and tenacity I respect. I also respect his efforts to clean up his game, and his work with James Willstrop. In the near future, I will be creating a video from the Qatar final between Asal and Elias, where you will see both players using their bodies to take space. It's not an Asal thing. In my opinion, the refereeing is partly to blame for a lot of the contact because they've become very harsh with their calls. In any case, I sincerely appreciate everyone taking the time to comment, watch, and partake respectfully. Feel free to share your thoughts. Wishing you all the best, - Ahad
Much appreciated. He has come a long way, and appears to be making conscious changes. I hope that we can positively encourage his efforts instead of trying to bring him down. Wishing you the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Cheers Ahad, the improvement in Asal's temperament and movement is great for the game and traffic problems still do occur, by far much better after the Willstrop mentoring.
Three things which are interesting to me: 1) Farag never seems to have an outburst like that with anyone else 2) When it comes to taking too much space, you can certainly distinguish more frequent offenders from the less frequent ones. Some get more comments from the referee than others. So, not everyone does it. But, yes, it is a relatively regular thing in pro squash at the moment 3) Interestingly, Asal never seems to have complained about other people's movement Ideally, everyone should strive to give space like Ashour does it
I appreciate the points you have shared. You're correct. I too hope that all players play the way Ramy did. It would be a joy to watch! Wishing you the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Great video. I agree that it's easy to judge given the polar opposite perceptions of both players. On a different note, Ahad, would you consider doing more of this type of post-match analysis? Such analyses are common for other sports like boxing, MMA, etc., but almost non-existent in squash.
Thank you 🙏🏼 yes, I am happy to conduct occasional post match analyses. Truthfully, creating videos like this one takes a lot of time, and I'm really short on time at the moment. Out of curiosity, how would you (and others) feel if I created a membership section on my channel and create similar (and other) detailed videos and analyses? Curious to hear your (and others) thoughts 🙏🏼 all the best, - Ahad
Great video and I love your respectful comments. But take a look at that final point in slow mo - you can see after Asal’s final shot he very subtly flicks one foot then the other at Farag’s ankles and catches him. It’s not a big kick, just a very subtle but deliberate niggle. So hard to spot without slo mo. And this reveals Asal’s character - not accidental traffic issues but systematic and ongoing cheating.
Are you on of the extreme anti-Asal people Ahad is talking about? Watch that slo-mo again. Asal is merely drawing his right foot in as he moves back towards the T in a very ordinary manner. The "flick" of his foot you see is his foot jerking back as Farag's foot collides with it. Farag's foot hit Asal's foot, not the other way round.
You don't know the rules of squash. It's Farag's turn to play the ball and he has the right to go to the ball without Ass-al getting in his way and making contact. You are blaming Farag for the contact while Ass-al is the one who has to give space since it's his opponent's turn to play. Learn the rules before opening your mouth.
You meet me to this exact comment really Asal is a great player but he did trip farag just before the I’m characteristic outburst, and the referee did not see the trip weather accidental or on purpose it warranted a review, possibly the quality of shot was one factor that helped his case but it dose leave a question mark for me. Also watching PSA final hi lights Diago v Asal were I see Asal reach in an attempt to grab the shaft of diagos racquet as he prepares to hit the ball Asal misses the grab this time but what was his hand doing in close to the body of Diago if not intentional reaching in. In in the first minute or so of the hi light. This is the same stuff he has been penalised for in the past. I don’t get it Asal has heaps of talent and ability and I have little doubt he will become world no 1 many times so he doesn’t need cheating in his game he could win without that rubbish.
I agree that he isn't totally clean like a Ramy (for example), but I do feel that he has improved significantly. As I mentioned in the video, deeply ingrained motor patterns take a long time to change. Furthermore, although I don't support the dodgy movements any of the pros make, I think that he is very much in line with their movements. I do however hope that he continues along his improvement journey and becomes extremely clean. His talent and abilities certainly allow him to do so in my opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙏🏼 all the best, - Ahad
The grabbing is the thing the really bothers me the most. More than the movement stuff. Bad movement can be classified under the category of bad technique and I agree it is difficult to build new muscle memory to replace old. But the grabbing is not a bad technique, it's just plain cheating, and makes me question his character. It's not a "technique" that should ever have been taught, learned or encouraged. It's the dirtiest thing I've ever seen on a squash court. Especially at a pro level.
@@chriscampbell1645 I agree. No one should be grabbing, and it is a habit that I hope he shakes. Other pros also push their opponent into the line of the ball to try and manufacture strokes, and I'm not a fan of any of it. I hope that all of the top pros clean up this dodgy side of the game and make it pure entertainment for us all! Wishing you the best, - Ahad
Don't disagree with your assessment. However, Asal cheats a lot and I am certain this is what pissed Farag off. Its subtle, but its there.. constantly blocking path and using this to destabilize his opponent. Diego smoked him yesterday, and I think what Diego did right is he held his ground, anticipatrd the contact and just bulldozed him s bit. Diego is a big guy too, not sure Farag could get away with those tactics.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I just watched the final from Qatar and there really were a lot of decisions. In my humble opinion, Diego was taking his space (mostly without malicious intent), and Asal was exerting tremendous effort to show the referee that he can reach the ball, leading to a lot of physicality. I plan on creating a video highlighting parts of this match. Stay tuned!! I hope that you enjoy some of the other videos in the meantime. All the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Asal has played hundreds of matches in front of refs, video refs, commentators and spectators. If he was intentionally cheating surely it would be obvious to spot?! And if cheating was a core part of his game then why he is winning more now that Willstrop has "cleaned" him up?
overall, I agree with your view of taking a balanced approach, and not to take extreme preconcieved views. However, why is there this necessity, to 'celebrate' Asal's slightly improved blocking? You have to admit, he is still an extremely far cry from being a clean player like Ramy for example. So from that logic, if someone was a murderer before, and is now 'only' assaulting people, we should be appreciative?
Not a bad video. I agree with the sentiment at the end and believe it was well thought out. However, I would love to see an actual analysis utilizing the WSF rulebook language. I believe the root cause of a lot of PSAs current issues stem from there
I appreciate your kind words, and I do agree that there is some lack of clarity re rules, and the consistent application of the rules. Hopefully everyone gets onto the same page soon. That being said, in the moment, from so far away, it is extremely difficult to see everything (for referees). Furthermore, at times, player movements occur inadvertently if they're slightly off balance etc. I'm speaking from personal experience playing at a decent level (although obviously not nearly as good as the players in question of course!). Wishing you the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I do agree that he still has moments, but honestly, for the most part, it's very similar to other top pros. That being said, I think that all pros need to manage their movement better during key moments. I also appreciate your analogy. Of course a murderer still assaulting folks is a very severe matter. In this situation, other players make the same "infractions" as Asal, and I feel that due to his history, there is greater sensitivity to his actions. Regarding sharing positive sentiment, he seems like the kind of guy that wants to please the crowd and fans. It is in this spirit that I'm suggesting positive reinforcement, in the hope that it continues to drive his improvement. Wishing you the very best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
@@ARProformance thank you for taking the time out to reply. I completely understand where you are coming from, and want to encourage Asal. However, I think that since you seem to be such a nice person yourself, you are seeing Asal from the same prespective. I strongly believe whatever little improvement seen in Asal's movement, is strictly due to the fact he was banned for several months, and not because he is somehow suddenly aware of what the public wants. And in my opinion, there is no room for Asal, or anyone else who blocks, and interefers with their opponents movement, as this can cause serious injuries. There should be extremely strict penalties for intentional movement like his. Wish you all the best as well
Ramy's style of play is totally different. Asal relies on explosive retrieving and high risk shot making. That results in more traffic issues made worse by his 6' 2" body.. I get no sense he is intentionally cheating or blocking.
Listen to Ahad, open your mind a bit and allow for a fresh perspective. Asal is obviously playing much cleaner than he used to, to anyone who is willing to see it. You've been missing out on some spectacular squash.
With respect, I'd encourage you to give him another try. When there is contact, please consider the context (all world class athletes, moving extremely quickly, in a small space, with a desire to win and leverage opportunities to their advantage). I'm not a fan of taking space and using one's body strategically, but alas, that is what the vast majority of players do. My only humble suggestion is that we try to rinse out the sour taste in our mouth from the past when Asal was truly "cheating" and blocking excessively, and enjoy the quality of squash he and the other top players are treating us to. Wishing you the very best, - Ahad
@@ARProformance Was he ever truly cheating and blocking excessively in the past? I've seen videos of him playing as a junior and his movement looks the same as it does now. The videos of the hand grabings look like incidental contact to me. In slow motion everything can be made to look intentional.
He does seem to have more traffic issues then others on the tour tho, but I guess its because he’s a big guy ? I’m always in the camp like why does he block sometimes because he’s so good already. But James did a good job so far. Thanks for your view 👌🏻
I hear you when you ask why he blocks when he's so good already. It's a great question - likely stems from early coaching, being taught that it's okay to do anything and everything to win when he was younger with an impressionable mind. Other players take advantage of loose shots and hold their ground as well. All of that being said, as you've noted, he has come a long way. let's hope he keeps trending in this direction! Wishing you the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
I just fundamentally disagree with you completely about his movement. Everything you said comes down to either 1) oh but other pros do it too! or; 2) he's not as bad as he used to be. or; 3) Asal's excessively wide base and trailing leg trips are because he's a 'big guy'. Farag's frustration was because on the Asal forehand, Asal was always move up to the T from mid-back service box instead of moving laterally to allow Farag to curve in front, meaning Farag must repeatedly move directly sideways, then backwards. Meaning he must lose his momentum to move perpendicular around Asal instead of smoothly curving to the back.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hear you about the ongoing frustration with Asal's movement. I genuinely believe that he has improved a lot over the last couple of years. The mid court is a tricky area re movement if sorry and/or loose balls are hit. All players take their space in the mid court if their opponents hit something that leaves them in a compromised position. That being said, I wish none of them did that, but it is a strategic advantage for them, so I understand the decision to do so - to each their own in this regard. Another factor to consider in Asal's case is that he genuinely is extremely powerful (natural skills and tons of training I'm sure). Given every professional player's desire to hold the 'T', and his extremely plyometric movement ability, he recovers extremely dynamically, in a manner others aren't able to do. At the end of the day, I agree that he still makes some dodgy movements, but not more so than other top pros. Do I agree with that? No. I'd love to see all of the professionals completely avoid traffic issues, but sometimes that just isn't possible, and at other times, it's done strategically. I appreciate your perspective, and respectful discussion 🙏🏼 wishing you the best, - Ahad
You summarized it up nicely. Unfortunately most people can't see through Asal. Even the judges. The sport is going to hell because of it. Maybe we need games like pickle ball where thugs can't win by physically interfering with their bodies.
@@ARProformance Glad you mentioned his strength and recovery abilities and I'd further say that it contributes to him hitting a lot of straight kills that players are having to move quickly round him to retrieve, when normally the shot would not be an option.
@@ARProformance I forgot to mention that this is a great video btw. I'm glad you interpreted the spirit of my comment as intended nonetheless. Thank you.
It's true that Asal has improved a lot in terms of giving space. However, in this particular match, to me it seems that as he too started to get fatigued, and started to use these subtle blocking techniques. Ali had a few complaints before that last one, and knowing him, I'm sure it was totally warranted. Ali is not a bad loser, and that last outburst is understandable.
Great point. Issue is with the nature of the sport. They all do it, why? Because it gives you an advantage. All else equal, the player who is better at blocking just enough to not make it suspicious while hindering the other player enough will prevail. Asal master at that, in fact improving 😅. Not everyone is shabana, ashour or gawad. Also the reason this sport will always be a small niche.
I hope that the players take inspiration from Shabana, Ashour, Gawad and the like! The refereeing is also causing some issues at the moment in my opinion. I feel that they've become too severe, leading to a lot of traffic issues. More on that in a future video though! Wishing you the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Have you seen Asal play? There's A LOT more to his game than "suspicious" blocking to gain some miniscule advantage . Try and appreciate his shot making and explosive retrievals. Then you will understand why he is in a league of his own.
Good take on what happened. Its not an Asal movement its one alot of the players do all the time. For me Diego does it the most. Blocks so many shots with his hip bumps
Yes! I also found Farag’s response baffling, to say the least. I / we can’t be entirely sure as to the reason or reasons. Having said that, it did appear to be about proper ball accessibility it did seem he was restricted in some way! But even that is not blatantly obvious. This is only my take here, so forgive me, having watched squash for many years ( and decades) I have observed that some of the Egyptian players have a certain temperamental irrationality and of course this is absolutely not true of all but more than a few. A kind of quirkiness.
@@bobgarbett3229 that’s how Egyptian taking over the top spots since they started come into the scene these last probably 10 years , by the way they played, they don ‘t play , they killed , no sportsmanship .
If you think Farag's response is baffling, slow it down and look again, but this time pay attention to Asal's feet (yes both of them) when he moves back to the T. Notice how first his left foot and then his right foot kick against Farag's right foot. That's why Farag was so upset, he got kicked twice when it was his time to play the ball.
I totally agree with the comments in the video. I was really anti Asal and I believe rightly so as he was consistently employing dark arts but it would really seem he is really trying to adapt his game and listen to the critics, it is not just him as rightly pointed out and I believe Wilstrop has been a really big influence on him also. He is a young lad who lacks a bit of maturity but this can be the case, he is however a great player. People saying they stopped watching Squash because of Asal doesn't make any sense, if you love Squash you would watch whatever and you don't have to watch Asal, just watch the other matches if it really bothers you that much. He can't bully fully grown men? He's a young man, if others feel bullied by him then they need have a look at themselves I would say. These are pro Squash players and I don't think they would allow themselves to be bullied.
I noticed a smirk on asal's face as faraq uncharacteristically stormed off the court. His approach to the sport brings out the worst in his opponents and the viewers. We can debate technicalities back and forth, i know that i intensely dislike his poor sportsmanship. I mean for what reason would faraq storm of the court if he felt it had been a fair match? I believe that he felt angry that his gestures of good will earlier in the match had not been respected or reciprocated by asal.
@@ReallyGhey And so the question is, why does the PSA stand by and cheer a bullying player? contrast asal with gaultier, who would virtually not let a player leave the court on bad terms, and who would really do everything to show that he appreaciated the contest. Yes, compare Gaultier with this guy who screams and raves after the winning point, and who seems more interested in how his image comes across on the camera. This is a serious fall in standards, its tasteless and disrespectfull towards his opponents and viewer alike.
@@Feline-philosopher I too am asking myself this question and agree with everything you wrote here. It's unfair to the other players and totally lacks class.
Asal has grown up and now has a great coach. But Farag who I thought was mostly unbeatable has just been destroyed by Elias in Qatar who then played excellent percentage squash to beat Asal in three tie breaks. Pleased for Elias who I think has worked out he needs to take the others out in 3 or 4 not 5.
Good to hear from you again. Thanks for your continued support. I have yet to watch Diego and Ali play, although the score line was quite one-sided. I did just watch the final between Diego and Mostafa, and it was an epic match. Some traffic issues as usual, but not much malicious intent in my opinion. I do plan on creating a video on this soon! All the best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
Asal has played hundreds of matches in front of refs, video refs, commentators and spectators. If he was intentionally cheating surely it would be obvious to spot?!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. In the video I noted that changing deeply ingrained motor patterns takes a lot of time and effort. When I think about myself and trying to change a habit, or when I think about folks that have addictions (ie. Ingrained motor patterns, stimulus response cues, dopamine hits etc), it is extremely difficult to change the habits. Asal's movement history is very similar because he was rewarded positively for it growing up (ie. Winning), and the habit was positively reinforced (repetitive motor patterns). I do believe that his movements have improved significantly (as I showed in the video). He certainly isn't perfect, but then again, no one is. My humble opinion is that we should encourage the positive growth and support the change, as hopefully he will continue to improve and win over everyone. Wishing you the very best 🙏🏼 - Ahad
@@ARProformance You replayed one point over and over above. The last point of the match. About 5:20 in you can see it. Slow down to 1/4 speed and pause several time. 1. Farag could probably feel the wind coming off the racket head of Asal's swing. It doesn't look like the racket came close to farag at first. Replay a few times and you'll begin to see a whipping motion that does come close. 2. Asal does not have the T at this point but he immediately moves a foot towards the T blocking. Farag is already stunned by almost getting hit with the racket and now he has been cut off. Then Asal puts in another foot and prepares for collision. Either Farag knocks the thug onto his ass hopefully using the end of the handle in Asals nether regions or he loses the point. Farag lost the point and is outraged. Judge doesn't see what happened. You don't see what happened. But many of us do and it is disgusting. The whole match was like this.
@@CheapHomeTech yes, the referee did nothing to stop Asal ! I have been watching squash for over 20 years , in the old days , people are playing so clean and moved away so well before the Egyptian came into the scene !!!!!!!
@@lucettetam8552 Interesting. I came across an Egyptian doing that sort of nonsense in the early 90s. He was unbeatable at first. Later he became a good friend. He is one of the reasons I'm so sensitive and recognize this play. (Which happens so much now days with so many players and such horrible judges.)
When it comes to this clip you completely missed why Farag got so upset. LOOK AT THE FEET! When Asal moves back to the T, first his left foot and then his right foot make contact with Farag's right foot. Slow it down, it's easy to see then. Farag's foot completely buckles when Asal's left foot makes contact, the second contact is less serious but still easy to spot. Getting kicked twice when it's your turn to play the ball deserves at least a let, no? What do you think? And knowing Asal doesn't mind provocing contact, maybe even a stroke. You are making the same mistake that all the others are making who claim that "Asal is now playing clean". In real time this situation looks like an obvious "no let". But then you slow it down and you see that Asal kicks Farag's foot twice when he tries to go for the ball. Asal isn't clean at all, he is just being more subtle about it. You would also ask for a let when you get kicked twice while trying to play, and you would be just as frustrated as Farag when you would get a "no let" because the referee failed to see that your opponent makes contacts when you are trying to play the ball. Open your eyes. Asal must have felt that contact as well, he still raises his arms in the air as if nothing was wrong during that rally and he won that point fair and square. He is a discusting example of bad sportmanship and should have been expelled from our sport years ago.
Your analysis regarding asal's movement is quite appropriate. Asal is a big guy coupled with the fact that he plays at an extremely high pace not letting his opponent settle back to the T. And when he goes his next shot it's like a bullet. That is why most of the time the other players find themselves in an uncomfortable position to retrieve the shot or drop and having to run through him makes it all the more considerably inconvenient. That's the reason his movements seem incredibly dodgy though they are extremely precise
Nonsense, slow the video down and look again, but this time look at Asal's feet when he moves back to the T. Both his left foot and his right foot make contact with Farag's right foot, completely putting off Farag. Not a weak moment for Ali, his frustration is very understandable, he got kicked twice trying to play the ball and Asal did it so subtle that we need to slow down the video to even be able to notice it.
