Humble, insightful Farag is a champion squash is lucky to have

Take a six-foot piece of steel rebar, add a lot of charm, throw in some geekiness, attach some wisdom, and you get Ali Farag.

- Rohit Brijnath

Wait, there's more. He has the fine manners of a deacon, is inspired by how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal carried themselves, has won seven fair play trophies, owns a degree in mechanical engineering from Harvard, gives 560-word answers to a single question and politely thanks my colleague Kimberly Kwek for a story she wrote on him in 2023.

Did I mention this 32-year-old man of faith is also the best squash player on the planet?

Very quickly it's clear that Farag has four world titles but is also a champion of perspective. "I think all sports, especially individual ones, are pretty much the same. It all starts from here (points to his brain) and from within... the character. If you have it in you, you will make it. If you don't have it in you, no matter how talented you are, you're not going to make it."

In town for the Singapore Squash Open, Farag talks competitive hunger, loneliness, marriage, fatherhood, Harvard, playing styles and a 95-minute epic with Diego Elias in Paris in 2024 which had two-minute rallies.

Two minutes! One rally! What's wrong with you guys?

He laughs. "I know, I know, I know."