{"id":405553,"date":"2026-03-12T16:39:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T19:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=405553"},"modified":"2026-03-12T19:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:07:25","slug":"squash-academy-brings-egyptian-athletes-to-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/squash-academy-brings-egyptian-athletes-to-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Squash academy brings Egyptian athletes to Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 S\u00e3o Paulo-based squash academy Bio Por Cento<\/a> aims to make history by bringing two prominent former Egyptian players to Brazil in June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletes Ali Farag and Ramy Ashour, four-time individual world champion and three-time world champion respectively, will take part in the venue\u2019s 1st Squash Experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to put Brazil on the global squash map and bring Brazilians closer to the sport. The Egyptians will be the stars of our event, scheduled for June 15 and 16, 2026,\u201d said Sergio Pavia, advertising executive, cofounder of Bio Por Cento, and one of the organizers of the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Bio
Bio Por Cento aims to put Brazil on the global squash map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

According to Sergio, the duo\u2019s presence goes beyond symbolism, as Egypt is currently the world\u2019s leading squash power, with consistent dominance in both men\u2019s and women\u2019s rankings over the past decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving athletes of this caliber in Brazil is rare, because the world circuit takes place mostly outside the country, especially in Egypt, Europe, and the United States. So providing this experience here is historic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the S\u00e3o Paulo native, the event\u2019s format was designed to bring fans and athletes closer together. On the first day, participants will enjoy a social gathering, including watching the broadcast of a football match between Egypt and Belgium at the FIFA World Cup, in the spirit of the global competition, followed by an open Q&A session with the athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the second day, matches will take place on the courts in small groups, with amateurs playing directly with the guests. In addition to the Egyptians, the event will feature Rafael Alarcon, Brazil\u2019s most decorated player in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closing will feature an exhibition match between Farag and Ashour. The event is part of the S\u00e3o Paulo Squash Federation\u2019s calendar to promote the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideal moment for the sport<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although squash is still growing its fan base, the sport has been rapidly gaining popularity among younger Brazilians. One sign of this was Brazil\u2019s participation in the youth squash event held from February 16 to 21 this year in Paraguay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the South American Junior Championship, the Brazilian team achieved a historic performance, winning 12 medals in the competition\u2014four gold, two silver, and six bronze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, squash has been confirmed as an Olympic sport and will be included in the Olympic Games to be held between June and July 2028 in Los Angeles, USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you bring global idols closer to young people, you create role models, you create dreams. That accelerates the development of the sport,\u201d said Sergio. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we want to do with our event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Squash Experience, other major tournaments planned for 2026, such as a stage in Ilhabela and a competition at Esporte Clube Pinheiros, are part of a calendar coordinated with the S\u00e3o Paulo Squash Federation to expand the sport\u2019s visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of the academy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Marcela
Marcela and Sergio Pavia lead Bio Por Cento forward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Very active, Sergio discovered squash in 2001 while studying advertising. Although he played only for leisure, the idea of the sport stayed in his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2015, when he met Marcela Oliveira Pavia\u2014who would later become his wife and who comes from a traditional family in Brazilian squash\u2014the sport began to take a central place in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also passionate about squash, Marcela\u2014who once played professionally\u2014shared her desire with Sergio to continue the legacy of her father, who had courts in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2025, after extensive planning, the dream came to life when the couple opened Bio Por Cento, an academy located in the Sumar\u00e9 neighborhood. In the same year, they organized several events to connect with the community and brought players from other countries, including Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, by bringing two icons of the global sport, Bio takes a step further: positioning itself as a bridge between Brazil and the global center of squash\u2014and betting that this connection can transform the future of the sport in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/em>:
The top footballers from the Arab world<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by Rebecca Vettore, in collaboration with ANBA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9Chandan Khanna\/AFP<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ali Farag and Ramy Ashour will take part in an event hosted by Bio Por Cento in S\u00e3o Paulo to bring the sport closer to Brazilians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2342,"featured_media":405534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[56125,56126,26760,48455,5297,9144,56127],"class_list":{"0":"post-405553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-academy","9":"tag-bio-por-cento","10":"tag-egito-en-2","11":"tag-egypt-2","12":"tag-egyptians","13":"tag-sport","14":"tag-squash"},"wps_subtitle":"Ali Farag and Ramy Ashour will take part in an event hosted by Bio Por Cento in S\u00e3o Paulo to bring the sport closer to Brazilians.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}