The Oman Table Tennis Committee (OTTC) has completed the final preparations for the upcoming ITTF Junior Circuit Premium, Oman Junior and Cadet Open which will take place from October 24 to 28 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.
Oman has been selected to host this event once again after a successful edition which was organised by OTTC in coordination with ITTF in February last year. More than 120 players from 20 countries are expected to feature in the tournament. All the participants will compete in different categories including hopes (U-12), cadet (U-14) and junior (U-16) in individual and teams events. Players from Britain, Greece, France, India, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Sweden, the UAE and the Sultanate are expected for the tournament.
Pawel Murzewski from Poland has been appointed as tournament director while Sajjad al Lawati will be the competitions’ manager. International umpire Said Lansari from Algeria is the chief referee. As many as 30 umpires will officiate the Oman Junior and cadet Open event including six international referees from Jordan, Palestine, India and Switzerland.
TTX SHOW
This edition of the ITTF junior circuit premium will feature a new initiative called Table Tennis X (TTX) which will be unveiled in Muttrah on October 26. This is part of promoting table tennis sports using big balls and racquet without leather. The function will be attended by the top officials of ITTF and OTTC. Also, the event will be part of sports tourism promotion in the Sultanate.
The technical meeting of the ITTF Junior circuit premium will be held on Wednesday at the meeting hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The meeting will start at 6:30 in presence of team managers. The technical meeting will be followed by the draw of the tournament.
Abdullah Ba Mukhalef, Chairman of OTTC, affirmed that Muscat is one of the main cities to host different table tennis championships and camps. “The Sultanate has good capability to host such top ITTF events. We can manage the global events as our officials and administrators have gained the experience,” he added.
Oman coach Mohammed Atoum has selected the players for the event.
Oman Hopes (U-12) team: Moaiad al Mutawwa, Ahmed al Riyami, Turki al Abri and Loqman al Farsi; Cadet (U-14) team: Al Mundher al Ghassani, Ayman al Shehi, Mohammed al Mutawwa, Abdul Rahman al Zaabi and Badr al Jassasi; Junior (U-16) team: Muath al Shehi, Mohammed al Balushi, Essa al Riyami and Mashal al Shehi.
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