“I love it here but we have a lot of turmoil and problems,” he says.
“I have friends, family and a lot of training partners and come back whenever I have the chance.
“I have an academy, external and it’s very exciting to be around the kids. I have a big team and they all know my thoughts on squash. If I’m not here we can communicate on Skype. I try to get on court with the kids whenever I can.
“Everyone is pretty depressed and not in the best place mentally, because after revolution there are a lot of hard times to get the country back on its feet. People are not that optimistic but we hope for the best.
“We’re not sure the people (in charge) are doing the best job. People aren’t as happy as they used to be. All Egyptians are talking about politics now because of the situation. I think 90% of Egyptians were never talking about politics before, but now they do.”
With his country in “turmoil”, Ashour could be forgiven for not being overly concerned with the less serious matters of sports politics, but far from it.
Squash faces a few weeks and months that will define its future, with Ashour and David, the impressive women’s number one, the faces of the campaign to get the sport into the 2020 Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee will cut the current shortlist of eight sports on 29 May, before making a final decision in September, and Ashour will be living every minute of the process.
“The Olympics is the most important thing in every squash player’s life,” he says.
“We’ve been trying to get it where it belongs and we’re doing all we can to convey the message and show the IOC the potential of the game. I think playing in a World Open final is great, but the pressure to get squash into the Olympics is history and helping the game survive.”
For now, Ashour is focused on winning the one major title that has eluded him and so extending an unbeaten run that passed the one-year mark on Monday.
England’s Nick Matthew beat him in last year’s British Open final, but Ashour insists: “It feels good to go back. It’s always good to play in front of a knowledgeable crowd and England is the motherland of the sport.”
