Egypt's Nour El Tayeb (left) retrieves a shot against Japan's Misaki Kobayashi in the CIMB Malaysian Open.
KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-engaged Egyptian squash player Nour El Tayeb is definitely all focused on her career for now.
The 21-year-old Nour got engaged to fellow Egyptian player – Ali Farag earlier this month.
The world No. 25 however believes it is more important for her to reach a consistent level in her game first before thinking about anything else.
“I’m really happy with the arrangements as we’ve been together for over a year,” said Nour.
“But that’s about it for now because we’re still very young. I’m 21 and he’s 22 and my main goal is still to achieve consistency in my game first.
“Whether or not I hit the high rankings yet doesn’t matter because I just want to be playing well.”
The 2011 world junior champion who was ranked a career high No. 12 in the world in 2011 certainly has the stage to prove her worth after taking out Japan’s Misaki Kobayashi in the first round of the CIMB Malaysian Open at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
The Cairo-born Nour showed impressive movements on court as she picked up the 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 win in just 25 minutes to set a second round showdown with world champion Laura Massaro of England.
“Misaki was a very tricky player and it’s so different playing in the Women’s Squash Association (WSA) Tour compared to a junior match,” said Nour.
“She made me sleep in the first game and I had to improve my game in order to win.
“Now I want to show how much I’ve improved and I’m eager to face Laura.”
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