Joel Makin: Welsh squash player loses in World Tour Finals semi-final
- Published
Joel Makin has been to the last two Commonwealth Games for Wales and will be aiming for his third in Birmingham 2022
Joel Makin lost in the semi-finals of the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals in Cairo after losing to defending champion Abdel Gawad.
The Egyptian world number three won on home soil in straight sets 11-9, 11-8 against world number nine Makin.
Makin reached the last four with group wins over New Zealand's Paul Coll and reigning world champion Tarek Momen.
The Welshman had also lost a second group game against Egypt's Marwan ElShorbagy.
Seventh seed Makin, 25, is only the second Welshman ever to qualify for squash's World Tour Finals after David Evans.
He has also moved up a place to a career-high ninth in the PSA Men's World Rankings for October.
The PSA World Tour Finals feature the world's top eight male and female players at Cairo's Mall of Arabia in Egypt.
The event was moved from June due to the Covid-19 pandemic with strict protocols in place.
All players and event staff have formed an 'event bubble' with the venue operating at 50% capacity in terms of spectators.