The Journey of Nouran Gohar: Triumph and Tenacity in the World of Squash

Edited By: Farah Mohamad 

Known as “The Terminator” in the squash community for her hard-hitting technique and perseverance, Nouran Gohar, a 26-year-old Egyptian, is ranked as the number three female squash player in the world. Her highest ranking has been the number one female squash player in the world, which she got for the first time in July 2020.

In the Fall of 2020, Gohar earned her bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering from AUC, while also pursuing squash professionally.

“Being a professional athlete and at the same time studying engineering, was a big challenge, and many people at the beginning thought that it was impossible to achieve,” said Gohar.

This only fueled her desire to defy expectations and show people that athletes are multifaceted individuals who are not only defined by their sport.

“My passion is squash and it has been my whole life, but that doesn’t mean that I have to give up on my studies; they are my passion too,” added Gohar.

From the day Gohar chose to pursue a career in engineering, she had a paper on her wall that read, ‘I am gonna graduate from construction engineering with high honors at the same time as being that world number one squash player’, and she made it happen.

Time management was crucial in being able to balance both her academics and squash properly, and played a huge role in Gohar’s success.

“Studying engineering is very stressful and demanding, you can be deprived of sleeping or even eating, so having squash on the side helped me get rid of these negative thoughts and negative energy,” said Gohar.

Gohar started playing squash at the age of nine. Her dad used to play squash for fun with his friends, and she always wanted to be with him on the court.

“I thought playing squash would be fun and I would be able to spend more quality time with my dad,” said Gohar.

Despite competing with much older and more experienced female squash players on the women’s international tour, Gohar became one of the best young players. 

At the age of 18, she was ranked fifth place in the world and won the platinum event, the highest level of the Professional Squash Association tournament, and at 19, she ranked second in the world.

“I beat the legend of the game, Nicol David, twice,” she said.

Gohar explained how many people don’t see the behind-the-scenes and how much work athletes do to get to the level they are playing at.

“I think, as a top squash player, I will always be hunted, not the hunter. Every single person is entering the court with you and they want to beat you,” Gohar said. 

She added that what separates number one world players from any other player is the consistency and dedication they have. They have to stay committed every day and continue improving since other players are improving too, and they need to stay on top.

“Reaching the top is hard, but staying on top is even harder. Being consistent and being able to hold on to your number one stop is a tough task, and it requires a lot of dedication and sacrifices,” said Gohar.

Looking back, she believes the 2021/2022 season was one of her best, winning eight out of 12 finals. Although she went in with the mindset of not obsessing over the rankings, she ultimately succeeded as the world’s number one player.

“Focusing on winning every single tournament I entered and every single match I played, instead of thinking about reaching a specific rank, removes the pressure of the ranking,” she said.

There is one big challenge that Gohar experienced in her squash career, which was plummeting from the world’s number two squash player to eighth place in just six months due to a back injury.

Gohar felt an electric shot in the middle of her back and fell on the court in January 2018. She recalled her experience as being “kind of paralyzed” for four to five days.

“I kind of hit rock bottom and I got in a really bad depression because everything looked black at the time. I also started losing matches to people I wasn’t supposed to lose to,” she said.

Before getting into AUC, Gohar gave up on scholarships from  Ivy League universities like Harvard, Pennsylvania, and Princeton to pursue her dream of becoming the best squash player in the world.

Gohar added that when everything was going wrong, she started questioning whether it was the right decision to stay in Egypt and study at AUC, and if playing squash was what she wanted to do, as she is also passionate about interior design.

“I started to feel like I hate squash,” she said.

Gohar explained that many people just see the picture of her smiling and holding the trophy, but they don’t see all the sacrifices, hard work, tears, and pain that come with it.

“Nouran and I haven’t been as close since we were very young because she’s always been extremely goal-oriented, focusing on her squash training and school. Plus, with a five-year age gap between us, it felt significant when we were younger, but as we both grew older, that gap seemed to narrow. Nouran’s discipline was always evident, and when I began training in squash like her, we naturally started to bond more. It was when she entered AUC that our relationship truly flourished. We began communicating better, and she started socializing more, bringing us even closer,” said her brother Mohamed Gohar.

Mohamed Gohar also recalled an unforgettable moment from a few years ago when During a CIB Egyptian Open final, his sister faced her main rival, Nour El Sherbini, the world’s number-one squash player. The score was tied at 2-2, with Sherbini leading 10-7 in the final game. Despite being sure the match was over and heading towards the exit, Nouran won five successive points to snatch the title. 

Two things that motivate Gohar to stay on top of the game are how she appreciates seeing her family members and closest friends proud of who she has become as a person, and how she loves to inspire younger generations to chase after their dreams.

“We have very tough days but these two things help me push through these days. And if I can push through the hard days, then I can do anything,” said Gohar.

Throughout Gohar’s squash journey, many coaches have doubted her and thought that she doesn’t have what it takes to reach the top.

“People around me have always doubted me, but the one thing that got me through all of this was that I truly believed in myself. Even though it sounds a bit cliche, one advice to younger squash players is never to give up and that their hard work will pay off,” she said.

She has two main goals that she wants to achieve in the future; winning a gold medal for Egypt at the Los Angeles (LA) 2028 Olympics and having her interior design firm one day.

“Squash has been my passion since I was nine years old, but I truly believe that life has more than just that,” she added. 

As Gohar’s triumphant story is still being written, after winning her latest title of Black Ball Squash Open 2024 on April 16, she is enthusiastically preparing for her next challenge, the El Gouna International Squash Open 2024 held from April 19-26.