MUSCAT: The youngster paddler, Nasser al Zaabi from Saham Club clinched the title of the 2024 Junior Singles Table Tennis Championship, after he defeated his team-mate Ali al Ajmi from Saham Club 3-0.
Meanwhile, Ibri Club won the Junior Teams Championship after they topped the tally by securing 10 points while Saham Club came in second by nine points and Salalah Club positioned in third place by eight points.
As many as 27 players took part in the singles category event at the main hall of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
The participants were divided into seven groups, the top two players from each group advanced to the round of 16 knockout stage. Champion Nasser al Zaabi defeated Ali al Rawahi in the semifinals before overcoming Nasser al Balushi in the quarterfinals.
While in the teams category, six clubs participated in the event namely: Ibri, Sohar, Qurayat, Rustaq, Salalah and Seeb.
The potential paddler Nasser al Zaabi delivered an impressive show during the tournament as he won the singles events, and assisted his team to end as the runners-up in the teams category. Oman’s table tennis head coach Omid Shams and women’s head coach Fatemeh Kivani attended the tournament to note their technical points for the participated players from different clubs representing the governorates across the Sultanate of Oman. The head coach Omid went to Iraq alongside with national team player Muhannad al Balushi who is taking part currently in the West Asia qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Saham’s player Nasser al Zaabi managed to win the title after tough competitions throughout all stages of the tournament, particularly in the final match. He maintained a high level of technical performance despite continuous efforts by his opponent Ali al Ajmi who worked hard to overcome him but al Zaabi managed to end the game for him. In the third and fourth play-off game, Moayyed al Mutawa from Salalah Club edged Ali al Rawahi from Ibri Club 3-0 to claim the third position award.
In the team competition, Ibri Club won the championship title by securing 10 points from five matches. Ibri Club players won all their matches as they began their campaign with defeating Saham 3-1, and then Qurayat Club 3-0, Seeb Club 3-0, and both Salalah and Rustaq clubs with the same score. Saham Club finished second with nine points, and Salalah Club came third with eight points.
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