MUSCAT: The national tennis team's young player Munir al Rawahi emerged champion of Oman Open Tennis Championship (OOTC) on Sunday in the Men’s Pro Singles event. Al Rawahi managed to edge his opponent from Nigeria Emeruwa Ifeany 2/1 (5-7, 6-2, 6-1) in the final clash summit after a thrilling match. With this victory, Munir al Rawahi snatched the trophy on the concluding day of the 3-week event which ended at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Munir secured a slot in the finals after he beat Brenden Nav Der Weide 5-7,6-1, 6-3 in the semis, while Emeruwa defeated Adehi Oche 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 in the other semifinal match.
“I am very glad with this achievement and living great moments to be crowned as champion of this tournament. The final match was very tight as my opponent was not easy in all the sets of the game, but I worked very hard to win this game. Thanks for OTA for this event, and I am looking for more success in the near future. I will have some more assignments in the coming months,” the champion said.
Moutasim Hamoud Sangour al Zadjali, Chairman of Oman Tennis Association (OTA), was the chief guest and he gave away the awards to top winners in all the categories following the final match in presence of OTA officials.
The duo Younis al Rawahi and Pereira G managed to win the title of the Men’s Pro doubles title following their crucial win over the pair of Adehi Oche and Sunday, while duo Mohammed al Yawer and Salim Abubaker won the title of Men’s Veteran doubles event.
In boys U14 category, Ahmed Ehab won the gold medal, while Mutaz al Mazroui ended as runner-up while Oman’s AbdulRahman al Rahbi bagged the first place as he beat Brejesh Sharun by 6/1, 4/6, and 10/7 in the final to claim the boys U-18 category title. The duo Ahmed Ehab and AbdulRahman al Rahbi excelled in the boys doubles event as they snatched the award in this category following their thrilling win over the pair Mutaz al Mazroui and Azzan al Busaidi. The youngster Aisha al Busaidy emerged champion of the girls U18 category as she produced an outstanding show in her final clash against Majda Kamil who ended in second place and the match ended with scores 6/5 and 6/2. Veteran player Mohammed al Yawaer managed to win the Men’s Veteran singles event of 50+ years as he defeated his opponents Saad al Suliemani while Jacqieline Verhaegen captured the title of the Women’s Veteran singles event of 40+ years after she won against Serpil Demir with scores of 6/0 and 6/0, while in the same category for 50+ years Elizabeth Schmid claimed the title following her win of 3/6, 6/3, and 10/7 over Triglet from South Africa.
BACK AFTER ABSENCE
Moutasim Hamoud al Zadjali, Chairman of OTA, affirmed that Oman Open Tennis Championship (OOTC) is one of the top domestic events organised by OTA. “The tournament is back after two years of absence and we are delighted on this strong return as more than 160 players are taking part in the event in different categories. Participation of such a number of players is a great success, and we are delighted to provide proper environment for the national and expat players to compete,” he added.
“This kind of tournaments and activities act as a great opportunity for local players to gear up for the forthcoming official events including the national team participation in the Davis Cup, besides some other events in Bahrain soon. Oman had recently hosted a successful Central and West Asian qualification for World Cup in Muscat. There are future plans to host some more Asian events in the Sultanate of Oman and probably at ITF level,” the OTA chief added.
TENNIS DEVELOPMENT
Said Safrar, Board member of OTA, said that participation of more than 160 players in Oman Open Tennis Championship is a great success. “Oman Open Tennis Championship is ranked as one of the top domestic tennis tournaments that help to improve the tennis in the country. There are many players in Oman who are playing tennis in different regions and at various venues including hotels, private courts and government courts which are available at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. As OTA, we are working hard to make this game as popular as we can across the country,” he said.
“The tournament was open for all the nationalities and ages and this has helped to support and improve the technical level of the local players. I hope to see the tournament in the coming years with better technical performance and with more improvement,” he added.
As many as 160 players of various ages and nationalities took part in the tournament which ran for three weeks. National team players showed top performance to register commendable results across different age group events. The OTA offered a total cash prize of RO 8,000 for the first place winners in each category in different disciplines, including men’s and women’s categories.
The event was re-launched after an absence of two years and the tournament targets to create a competitive atmosphere among players and encourages residents of various nationalities in Oman to contribute to the development of local competitions.
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