Kiwi squash star Paul Coll has been beaten in the world championship final, losing in straight-sets to Egypt's world No.3 Tarek Momen.
Momen took just 39 minutes to see off the challenge of Coll, winning 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 to land his first world title in Doha, Qatar.
Coll, who was the first Kiwi male since Ross Norman in 1986 to appear in a final, struggled with a quad injury but made no excuses after the match.
"It was tough right from the word go," Coll said after the final. "Tarek wasn't missing and making me do a lot of work. It was taking its toll right from the first rally because he was playing so accurate right from the start.
"I'm a little bit disappointed on tonight, but credit to Tarek - he really delivered on the big stage tonight.
"I've had massive support from back home waking up in the early hours of the morning. I really felt it all week and love all you guys."
Momen's win created a piece of sporting history, he and wife Raneem El Welily becoming the first married couple in sporting history to become world champions in the same sport.
El Welily won the world championship in 2017, and lost in this years final.
"I only realised this morning we were the only married couple to become world champions. We are privileged to have achieved something, and I'm so happy we did it," said Momen, who lost in last year's world championship final.
Momen also praised Coll for his incredible run at the tournament.
"He's done so well making it this far. He had the better of our last finals appearances, I'm just glad I managed to get this one.
"It was such a strong match, I know he pushed himself hard during the event. Towards the end, I could see he was struggling a bit, but he kept pushing."
