Abdelfattah AbouTaleb, better known as "A.A. AbouTaleb", or simply "AbouTaleb", was a squash

Squash (sport)

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

 player from Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. During the 1960s, he won the British Open

British Open Squash Championships

The British Open Squash Championships is the oldest and most established tournament in the game of squash. It is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious tournaments in the game, alongside the World Open The British...

 three times.

AbouTaleb started out by sweeping the courts at Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

's National Sporting Club, where his brother was the tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 professional. At first he had to make do with discarded broken rackets and burst balls.

AbouTaleb reached the final of the British Open for the first time in 1963, when he lost to Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

's Mo Khan in a five-set final 9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6. The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.)

AbouTaleb then went on to win the British Open title for the next three consecutive years. In 1964, he beat Mike Oddy

Mike Oddy

Michael "Mike" Oddy is a former squash player from Scotland. He was one of the game's leading players in the 1960s. He played in an era where the sport was dominated by great players from Pakistan and Egypt Michael "Mike" Oddy is a former squash player from Scotland. He was one of the game's...

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in the final 9-3, 9-7, 9-0. AbouTaleb's win that year marked the end of 13 years of Pakistani domination of the British Open men's title. The following year, AbouTaleb beat his fellow Egyptian player Ibrahim Amin

Ibrahim Amin

-Career:In 1965, Amin finished runner-up at the British Open, losing 9–0, 0–9, 9–1, 9–6 in the final to fellow Egyptian player, A.A. AbouTaleb.-References:...

 in the final 9-0, 0-9, 9-1, 9-6. His third and final British Open title came in 1966, when he defeated Pakistan's Aftab Jawaid

Aftab Jawaid

Aftab Jawaid is a former squash player from Pakistan, who was one of the game's leading players in the 1960s. He won the British Amateur championship three times , and finished runner-up at the British Open three times .- External links :*...

 in the final 9-6, 5-9, 9-3, 9-1.

British Open final appearances

Wins (3)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1964	Mike Oddy Mike Oddy Michael "Mike" Oddy is a former squash player from Scotland. He was one of the game's leading players in the 1960s. He played in an era where the sport was dominated by great players from Pakistan and Egypt Michael "Mike" Oddy is a former squash player from Scotland. He was one of the game's...	9-3, 9-7, 9-0
1965	Ibrahim Amin Ibrahim Amin -Career:In 1965, Amin finished runner-up at the British Open, losing 9–0, 0–9, 9–1, 9–6 in the final to fellow Egyptian player, A.A. AbouTaleb.-References:...	9-0, 0-9, 9-1, 9-6
1966	Aftab Jawaid Aftab Jawaid Aftab Jawaid is a former squash player from Pakistan, who was one of the game's leading players in the 1960s. He won the British Amateur championship three times , and finished runner-up at the British Open three times .- External links :*...	9-6, 5-9, 9-3, 9-1
Runner-ups (2)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1963	Mo Khan	9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6
1968	Jonah Barrington	9-6, 9-0, 9-5

External links

• Squash article at Peak Performance Online