Egypt’s Amr Khaled Khalifa (pic) is set to become only the 3rd man in history to win the title twice when he defends his crown in the Men’s World Junior Championship in Belgium. The 18-year-old is named as top seed in the 2011 championship which will take place Herentals from 13-17 July. Khalifa will be aiming to maintain Egypt’s unbroken grip on the trophy since 2004, when Ramy Ashour won the first of his record-making two titles, followed by history-repeating double-title victories by Mohamed El Shorbagy in 2008 and 2009. And it will be Mohamed’s brother Marwan El Shorbagy who is expected to provide Khalifa’s stiffest opposition. The 17-year-old is seeded to meet the title-holder in the final in a repeat of the 2010 championship’s semi-final in Ecuador, where Khalifa won in 5 games. Pakistan provides the two 3/4 seeds, Danish Atlas Khan and Nasir Iqbal, both 17-year-olds. Players from 19 nations will compete in the 18th staging of the WSF championships.
