Muscat, Jan 1 - The seventh edition of the Arabian Veteran Tennis Championship in Muscat will provide the best platform for all the Arab senior players to compete and challenge for the title. The four days of the Championship will begin on Saturday with participation of 200 players from 14 different Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine and the hosts Oman. The technical meeting of the teams and the tournament draw will take place on Friday at Al Marouj hotel in Al Khuwair while the competitions will be followed next day at tennis courts in Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The official opening of the Arabian Veteran Tennis Championship will be on Sunday under auspices of Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Saeedi, the Minister of Legal Affairs in presence of dignitaries and officials. The organising committee represented by Arab Seniors Tennis Union (ASTU) and Oman Table Tennis Association (OTTA) officials held many meetings to ensure all preparations are moving smoothly and easing the process of the players arrival to the Sultanate.
The top senior player tennis event will feature participation of many top players from the Sultanate including: Salim Abubaker, Ayman Said, Madani Al Bakri, Abdullah Sali, Mohammed al Amri, Ayman al Hasani, Tamam al Asfoor, Mukhtar Mohammed, Hamood Sangoor al Zadjali, Ahmed al Saidi, Mohammed Hamood al Zadjali, Ali Kamal Dawood, Modrek Nadhim, Ahmed Hassan al Dheeb, Samaan Jameel Karam and Khalfan al Obaidani. Bahrain team comprised of the following players: Hassan al Makhraq, Ahmed Omran, Abdul Hussain Nashabah, Faisal Sharaf, Khalid Janahi, Mohammed Abu Hassan, Mohammed Abu Mirza and Abdul Latif Mohammed.
The tournament will register eleven competitions including singles and doubles for men and women.
There will be different senior categories which witnessed from 35 years, 44 years, 55 years, 64 years and above. All the matches will be played in knockout stages style.
As part of the championship, the organising committee announced for a referee course which will feature participation of many umpires from the Sultanate and abroad. The course will commence on Thursday and will last for two days. The Saudi’s international referee Yousef al Turaif, will be the trainer of the course. The umpiring workshop will witness different topics including refreshing the referees with the latest update of the rules and regulations approved by the international federation. Many practical sessions will be part of the course besides the theoretical subjects.
It is expected the course will help umpires gain the required technical knowledge and cover crucial aspects of tennis refereeing. It will also help them discuss some common mistakes that could occur during competition and discuss the best way to eliminate those mistakes.
The referee list will feature many senior and experienced umpires from the Sultanate and abroad including: Mohammed al Falahi, Abdullah al Yahyaei, Wareth al Shibani, Abdullah al Awadi, AbdulMalik al Oufi, Abdul Rahman al Hajri, Yahya al Kharousi, Ahmed al Bahrani, Azhar al Bahrani, Amani Hassan and Musallam al Harbi.
Majeed Abdullah al Asfoor will preside over the organising committee which includes also Dr Khalid al Adi as director of the coordination and follow up committee. Eng Samaan Karam, head of referees committee, Abdul Karim Saad Allah head of technical committee, Salman Abdulraheem al Balushi as head of public relations committee and Abdulkarim al Balushi as director of opening and final ceremony.
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