No political statement intended, Nour Bahgat just wants to play against, and hopefully defeat, the best competition.

Bahgat, an Egyptian studying at Trinity College in Connecticut, won the intercollegiate squash title as a freshman. In the junior ranks, she won the German, Pioneer and Dutch Opens, as well as a world team championship while a member of the Egyptian Junior National Team.

In her sophomore college season, Bahgat was upset in the first round of the 2010 intercollegiates. She did not play on the team the following year, and is now a senior at Trinity.

Once ranked in the top 125 worldwide, Bahgat said this week she’s excited to return to competition at the Pro Squash Tour’s inaugural Bobcat Classic, hosted by Bates College.

And how well she does will be determined regardless of gender. The PST doesn’t restrict competition between men and women.

“Our theory is, may the best athlete win, regardless of age, gender or nationality,” PST founder Joe McManus said. “This allows completely open competition, and it makes for great competition.”

“It was great to know that the PST is open for both men and women to join,” Bahgat said. “I see this as a wonderful opportunity to play with some great players and step up to a higher level. I’m always working on improving my game, and I grew up training with both men and women as well. However, this will be the first tournament I play with men.”

Despite the open policy, McManus said Bahgat’s participation this week will be a milestone — the first time men and women will compete in the same draw at a PST event.

“In a way, she’s also upholding a tradition of sorts, in that Bates College was one of the first schools in the country, and the first in New England, to allow both men and women to enroll,” he added. “In a way, this has a nice historical connection, as well.”

Bahgat is excited for the opportunity to help grow the popularity of a sport she’s loved for a long time.

“In Egypt, where I grew up, squash has always been a big sport and it’s even growing more everyday,” Bahgat said. “It feels great to see squash growing bigger and bigger worldwide, especially in the United States. I recall that when I first came to the U.S., most people asked me what squash is, and some middle school students I met for a presentation on Egypt, told me, ‘Squash is a vegetable, how come (you) play with it?’ I can see a big difference today. There are many tournaments held in the U.S. now and a lot of juniors got in the game.”

As for playing alongside the men this week?

“I believe that one of the challenges faced playing against men is that the rallies are overall longer,” Bahgat said. “Also, the intensity and the pace of the game is more challenging. I am very much looking forward to this weekend and to see how well I could do.”

McManus said he’s not too worried about any perceived physical differences between Bahgat and the male competitors, either.

“Squash is physical by nature, in that the players competing against each other are occupying the same space, but at the end of the day players are judged on their speed and quickness and in the selection of the shot that they play,” McManus said. “We’re excited to have Nour join us for this event and competing on tour.”

Copy the Story Link