Youngsters rose to the occasion, says Ahli Sidab assistant coach

Muscat, March 2 - The Muscat-based team Ahli Sidab dominated their opponents Bausher in the prestigious His Majesty’s Cup hockey championship final as they lifted the title for the 12th time at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, on Monday. With the victory, the CR Kumar-coached Ahli Sidab side received the coveted cup with RO 40,000 cash prize and gold medals while Bausher team players received silver medals and cash prize of RO 25,000. Seeb club came in third place after edging Sohar 4-1 in the third/fourth place playoff. Speaking after the distribution of the medals ceremony, the assistant coach of Ahli Sidab team, Khalid al Riyami, said that players delivered a top technical show since the beginning of the campaign and in all the rounds including the finals. Ahli Sidab heroes stamped on their demonstration for winning the showpiece crown of the HM Cup for the 12th time in history. “All the team’s stars (most of them below than 23 years) deserved this triumph and I am confident they can provide even better performances in the coming years,” coach Al Riyami added. The national coach pointed out that the opponent, Bausher, was not an easy team as they have talented and experienced players. “We had commenced the match carefully and worked on our strong points and benefited from the weaknesses of the opponent. There were many dangerous attempts from Bausher team. Our target was clear from earlier to regain the title and we managed to win the coveted trophy and we managed to accomplish that,” he said. Ahli Sidab coach ended his statement by sending a special thanks to the chairman and board of directors for their continuous follow-up and providing full support to the team. On December, 14 2020, Ahli Sidab were crowned as the champion of the His Majesty’s Youth Cup for 2019. In the past years, Ahli Sidab club were one of the competing teams in different sporting events including handball and volleyball. Dr Marwan bin Juma al Juma, Chairman of Ahli Sidab club, said that the team’s accomplishment of the prestigious HM Hockey Cup is a result of hard work and top efforts taken by the players and technical staff since long back. “A proper plan set by the coaching staff and implemented on the right direction by the players and that managed the team to lift the HM Cup crown. A dedicated thanks to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Oman Hockey Association (OHA) for their perfect organisation to the top domestic hockey event. A special thanks to the honourable chairman of Ahli Sidab, Shaikh Khalid bin Mohammed al Zubair for his continuous support,” chief of Ahli Sidab concluded. Tayyab Ikram, Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) CEO, said it is great to see the restarting of the hockey activities in the Sultanate after a long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “It is a very crucial aspect that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Oman Hockey Association (OHA) restarted the hockey activities on the ground. I am pleased with strict regulations and SOPs implemented in all the events to ensure the safety of the players and participants in all the hockey events,” he added. The chief of AHF affirmed that Oman has huge potential. “I have attended some exciting games during the prestigious His Majesty’s Cup hockey championship. We need to work together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and OHA to achieve different targets towards development of Oman hockey. Oman submitted their bid to host the AHF Cup but the dates are not confirmed yet due to the ongoing pandemic,” he concluded. Adil al Balushi