Oman claim silver, bronze in doubles events

Omani under-12 duo of Aiman al Shehi and Ahmed al Riyami claimed a silver medal for the Sultanate on the concluding day of the Arab Table Tennis Championships.

Al Shehi and Al Riyami lost to Lebanese duo of Ali Hakmat and Abbas Jabar 3-1 in the final on Sunday.

Earlier, Oman’s Haitham al Mantheri and Al Julunda al Kharousi landed the country’s first ever major international medal by winning the bronze in the under-21 men’s doubles.

Haitham, a diploma student at the Al Musannah College of Technology, said it was a memorable achievement. “I am very happy with my partner Al Kharousi. We worked hard following our coach’s instruction. To win a medal at home in the Arab TT is big boost to our confidence,” he said.

Haitham is next off to Chinese Taipei for University Games.

Oman head coach Mohammed Atoum said that the results are remarkable achievements for Oman table tennis.

“We had started from the scratch and along with the OTTC we are able to get good results at the Arab championships. It is a great moment for Oman TT. We need to sustain this momentum with good follow up and training programmes.”

Atoum, who had joined nearly two years ago, is personally happy for providing the impetus to the game in Oman.

“We had arranged a short trip to China to give some exposure to the players about the game. The short stint has already made its impact with the attitude of the players as many of them had put up impressive outings in the Arab TT,” the Jordanian said.

Oman assistant coach Abdullah Said al Hajri also shared his views on Oman players, saying there has been an overall improve on the standard of the players.

“The players have improved a lot. We can see some of the results at the Arab TT. Hopefully they will be richer by experience after the matches at this tournament,” he said.

OLYMPIC DREAMS Mohammed Abdul Wahab of Qatar is targetting a qualification for Tokyo Olympics 2020. The youngster, who won the under-21 men’s gold and U-21 doubles silver for Qatar, is jubilant that he won his second gold at Arab championships after winning under-18 gold in 2015.

“This gold is special for me. In 2015, I won the U-18 title. To continue

Egyptian medal winners in various sections.

Oman coach Mohammed Atoum (L) with Oman’s U-21 doubles bronze medal winners Haitham al Mantheri and Al Julunda al Kharousi, OTTC Chairman Abdullah Bamakhalef (C) and ATTU Chairman Khalil al Mohannadi. Algeria won the gold and Qatar took the silver.