40 world titles decided on final day of World Veteran Table Tennis Championships
The final day of the World Veteran Table Tennis Championships Muscat 2023 on Sunday, held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), saw prizes presented in 40 events.
The last day of the championship was tense, but the spirit of togetherness that had embodied the event was on show throughout.
Two players in particular will look back on the day with fond memories as they completed the coveted ‘full house’ of medals.
Maria Donner of Finland and India’s Mantu Murma won gold in each of the competitions they participated. Donner added the women’s singles gold in the 4045 years category to the Mixed Doubles gold she won with Sweden’s Igor Krokhim and the Women’s Doubles she won with Sofia Westhom. Murma won Mixed Doubles gold in the 60years group with Vinay Chopra and then won Women’s Doubles with Jette Vieg.
H E Basil bin Ahmed al Rawas, Undersecretary for Sports and Youth in the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Youth, was present on the occasion to give awards to the winners.
“The World Veteran Table Tennis Championships 2023 is an essential part within the International Tennis Federation calendar, with many players keen to take part every two years. We are delighted that 1,600 participants from 69 countries have visited Oman to enjoy our wellknown warm hospitality firsthand,” the undersecretary said.
“We are immensely proud to have received positive feedback on the country’s hosting and organisational capabilities to making this event ground-breaking. Oman’s unique charm and authentic Arabian experience, combined with the state-of-the-art facilities at OCEC, has made this edition like no other in the event’s history,” H E Rawas added.
Elsewhere in the championship, Gregor Förster and ZsoltGeorg Böhm of Germany, and Norway’s Paal Guttormsen and Japan’s Kazuo Masuda finished with two gold medals each. Böhm and partner Boris Rosenburg won the Men’s Doubles 60years competition and then went on to take the Men’s Singles 6064 years crown by beating Wang Yansheng in the final.
Paal Guttormsen, won the men’s Singles 65-69 years title, after winning the Mixed Doubles 65-years the day before with Estonia’s Kai Thornbech.
Förster and Masuda each won two gold and one bronze. Förster won the Men’s Singles 40-years gold, and earlier secured the Men’s Doubles 40 years title with Michael Marsden of Wales. He also won a bronze in Mixed Doubles 40 years with Germany’s Tatiana Pokrovskaya. Masuda won the Men’s Singles 85-years event and partnered with Reiko Miura to then win the Mixed Doubles. He also secured a bronze in Men’s Doubles 85-years with Sweden’s Urban Living.
Trine Grauholm won the
Women’s Singles 45-49 years title; Estonia’s Kai Thornbech emerged victorious in the 65-69 years category; Singapore’s Liang Mui Heng secured 50-54 years gold. However, several age groups were dominated by Japanese players; the 70-74 years title went to Kazuko Horino, Noriko Watanabe won the 80-84 years event, Reiko Miura struck gold in the 85-years competition. In the Men’s Singles, Iran’s Mehran Ahadi won the 45-49 years event.
The next edition of the championships will take place in Rome, Italy, in July 2024.
We are delighted that 1,600 participants from 69 countries visited Oman to enjoy our warm hospitality first-hand H E Basil al Rawas