OTTC all set for ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open

MUSCAT, March 18 - Oman Table Tennis Committee (OTTC) in coordination with International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is set to kick off its biggest event ever through organising the draw ceremony of Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open on Tuesday. The draw of tournament will take place on Tuesday at the conference hall of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in presence of Mohammed Dawlatli, tournament director, Sajjad al Lawati, competitions director and the participated players. The tournament will witness seven categories of competitions namely: singles (men and women), doubles (men, women and mixed), singles U-21 (men and women). Omani players will take part at the world ranking event including, Assad al Raisi, Haitham al Mandhari, Muhannad al Balushi and Al Julanda al Kharousi and all of them are ready to compete with other opponents on total cash prize money of $65,000. The tournament will see around 260 participants from all the continents including players, coaches, referees and administrative staff from 40 countries namely: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, America, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Qatar, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Croatia, Italy, South Korea, Paraguay, Algeria, Sweden, Ecuador, Syria, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Oman. Asad al Raisi, local player, affirmed that participation at Seamaster ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open is a great opportunity for all the local players. “We will get the real chance to play against top ranking players from the world in Muscat. It is a golden opportunity to learn from them”. The Seeb player pointed out competition with other opponents for podium will be tough at this early stage. “Gaining the required experience and learning from top players’ skills will be the key advantages for us in this tournament. Our aim is to come out from the tournament with maximum lessons learned,’’ the Oman national table tennis team player concluded.