Kent county squash captain Ben Ford came close to a shock defeat in the first round of The Mote Classic Pro-Am in Maidstone last night.
Ford, the experienced professional from Welling, survived a battling fightback from the 19-year-old Ahmed El Refee before booking his place in the quarter-finals.
Ford looked comfortable as he won the first two games but El Refee, who was born in Cairo and is now being coached by former world No.2 Peter Marshall in London, hit back to draw level. However, the 33-year-old Ford regained control to ease home 11-5 in the fifth. Ford now faces a tough battle against Scottish No.1 Alan Clyne in the quarter-finals.
El Refee was the only underdog to win a game as the eight qualifiers took on the top eight pros in the main draw following the previous night's elimination contest.
Kent junior Elliot Knight did himself proud as he enjoyed his moment in the spotlight against top seed Chris Ryder, and the 55-year-old Kent veteran Phill Crane was proud of the three points he managed to acquire against Alan Clyne.
Kent county badminton player Peter Stock, who plays squash for Fitness First Medway, ran and chased every ball against Joel Hinds, the recent British Under-23 runner-up, but soon became aware of the fitness levels required to compete at this level as Hinds worked him from corner to corner.
Karim Safwat, son of Egyptian legend Ahmed Safwat, played superbly against No.2 seed Aaron Frankcomb but was on the receiving end of some brutal rallies as the Australian secured his place in the quarter-finals.
Malaysian brothers Wan and Jam Adnan cruised past Joe Magor (Canterbury) and Dean Newbery (Bexley) and big hitting Galen Le Cheminant, from Cambridgeshire, had too much firepower for Martin Clark of Rodmersham.

FIRST ROUND RESULTS:

(1) Chris Ryder beat Elliot Knight 11-5, 11-1, 11-2
(5/8) Galen Le Cheminant beat Martin Clark 11-2, 11-6, 11-5
(5/8) Joel Hinds beat Peter Stock 11-5, 11-1, 11-1
(3) Wan Adnan beat Joe Magor 11-1, 11-6, 11-5
(4) Ben Ford beat Ahmed El Refee 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5
(5/8) Alan Clyne beat Phill Crane 11-2, 11-1, 11-0
(5/8) Jam Adnan beat Dean Newbery 11-3, 11-4, 11-4
(2) Aaron Frankcomb beat Karim Safwat 11-1, 11-7, 11-5

QUARTER FINALS

11am: Ford v Clyne
11am: Frankcomb v Jam Adnan
12 noon: Ryder v Le Cheminant
12 noon: Hinds v Wan Adnan

PLATE FIRST ROUND:

Adrian Humphries (Mote) beat Eddie Aruede (Mote) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5
James Evans (Mote) beat Paul Adam (Mote) 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9
Simon Crowther (Tunbridge Wells) w/o v Nigel Tierney (Brentwood)
Paul Newvell (Mote) beat Matt Fincham (Maidstone) 11-8, 11-6, 11-9

PLATE SEMI-FINALS:
11am: Newvell v Crowther
12 noon: Humphries v Evans

The main draw semi-finals take place at 5pm and 6pm today with the Danny Lee Band entertaining the crowds in the evening.