AL KHOBAR (Saudi Arabia), Dec 6: World No 1 Ramy Ashour gave up on his bid to win back the World Open squash title after only six minutes of the second round when a hamstring injury forced him to call a halt on Sunday.

The 23-year-old from Cairo left the court in agony after losing one game which was so painful it suggested he might have been better never to have taken the court.

It was won 11-2 by Aamir Atlas Khan, the Pakistan No 1, and Ashour's retirement cost the tournament someone who was simultaneously its most charismatic player, the unofficial favourite for the title, and a local hero with strong connections to the city.

“I'm very sad. I don't know what to say. It means so much to me,” Ashour said, close to tears. “I felt it first in training back in Egypt a week ago.

“I was going to hospital every day and I hoped it would be all right when I got here. There was no way I was going to miss the World Open.

“I really wanted to play and stay world number one. But when I was here I felt it go again.

“I somehow managed to get through my first match [against Kristian Frost of Denmark] and I thought that with a rest day, if I prepared carefully, I might get through another one. It was no good – I just couldn't move.”

Ashour is sponsored by ATCO, whose vice-chairman Ziad Al Turki is responsible for bringing a world championship to Saudi Arabia for the first time.

It was in this same arena a year ago that Ashour won a thrilling final in the Saudi International against England's Nick Matthew to snatch the year-end world No 1 spot.

Matthew, the top seed, could now become the main beneficiary of Ashour's ill fortune, and has a last-16 encounter with Hisham Ashour, Ramy's elder brother, on Monday.

Others who may take advantage are Ashour's compatriot Amr Shabana, the 31-year-old defending champion, who plays Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia, and a third Egyptian, Karim Darwish, the former world No 1.

Darwish progressed safely to the third round with a 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 win over Tom Richards of England.

Another front runner to impress was James Willstrop, the world No 5 from England, whose 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 win over Borja Golan of Spain appears to have opened up a route through to the semi-finals in place of Ashour.

Results (prefix number denotes seeding): Second round: Stewart Boswell (Australia) bt Adrian Grant (England) 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-3, 6-0 – Grant retired; Wael El Hindi (Egypt) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Australia) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; 4-Karim Darwish (Egypt) bt Tom Richards (England) 11-8, 11-9, 11-5; Daryl Selby (England) bt Olli Tuominen (Finland) 11-4, 11-7, 11-6; Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egypt) bt Mathieu Castagnet (France) 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9; 8-Peter Barker (England) bt Simon Rosner (Germany) 12-10, 11-5, 11-5; 6-James Willstrop (England) bt Borja Golan (Spain) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3; Aamir Atlas Khan (Pakistan) bt 2-Ramy Ashour (Egypt) 11-2 – Ramy Ashour retired.—AFP