Mahmoud Karim

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Mahmoud el Karim (1916-1999) was a squash player from Egypt. He won the British Open men's title four consecutive times from 1947-1950.

Karim first played golf and tennis at the Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo before discovering squash at the age of 15. He enjoyed it so much, that he came to devote all his time to the sport.

In 1947, Karim captured the British Open title for the first time. The 1947 final was the last occasion on which the British Open was decide in a best-of-three-matches contest between the two finalists. Karim beat Jim Dear 9-4, 9-1, 9-3 in the first match and 5-9, 7-9, 9-8, 9-7, 9-4 in the second match. In 1948 Karim again faced Dear in the British Open final, this time in a single match to determine the champion which Karim won 9-5, 9-3, 5-9, 1-9, 10-8. Karim then beat Brian Phillips in the 1949 final 9-4, 9-2, 9-10, 9-4. In 1950, Karim beat Abdul Bari of India in the final 9-4, 9-2, 9-7.

Karim was also runner-up at the British Open in 1951 and 1952, losing in the final on both occasions to Pakistan's Hashim Khan.

After retiring as a player, Karim moved to Montreal, Canada, and became a squash coach. He moved back to Egypt at the age of 72 and became Director of Squash at the Gezira Club.

Karim died on September 9, 1999 at the age of 83.