02 Sep 2024
Four Aspire Academy student-athletes helped Qatar win medals across several age groups at the West Asian Table Tennis Championships in Amman, Jordan.
The student-athletes return with six medals, three of which are gold and three silver.
The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) picked Rawad Al Nasser (Grade 11), Ahmed Korani (Grade 11), Yousef Abdulzaher (Grade 10), and Issa Al Haddad (Grade 9) for the event, which concluded on 31 August.
Aspire Academy's Head Table Tennis Coach, Peter Karlsson, explained that representing Qatar is an important part of the student-athletes development.
"Our players are still very young and have still many things to learn as they continue to develop," he said.
"By representing Qatar in big championships like this, they not only learn a lot about their game but also about themselves."
"Things such as: How do they handle expectations and pressure? How can they implement technical and tactical details into matches? "
"It's also a very important experience from a social perspective. They meet a lot of people from other countries, and they support their friends during the competition.
"Learning how to work as a team is very important in many aspects of life. "
The QTTA President, Mr Khalil bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi, was pleased with the medal haul at the event.
"We are happy with the achievements of Team Qatar, and we are hoping for more medals in the upcoming competitions," he said.
"Our players were well prepared for the championships, and certainly, the results will boost their confidence."
During the championships, Mr Khalil bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi was also elected unopposed President of the Asian Table Tennis Federation for a second consecutive term, which he will serve until 2028.
Rawad Al Nasser and Ahmed Korani were part of the team that claimed gold in the under-17 category. Yousef Abdulzaher was part of the under-15 team that also won gold, while Essa Al Haddad helped claim silver in the under-13 team event.
Ahmed Korani won an individual silver in the under-17s as he lost out to his compatriot and former Aspire student-athlete Sultan Kuwari.
The duo then teamed up for the doubles and claimed a silver medal as they lost to Bahrain in the final.
There was gold in the under-15 doubles for Qatar thanks to Aspire's Yousef Abdulzaher and Mohammed Sulaiti.
The Aspire table tennis players' next event is the World Table Tennis Youth Contender event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which begins on 23 September.