08 May 2016
Amman, 8 May 2016. Qatar claimed gold in the West Asia Junior Table Tennis Championship, which was held from May 5-7 in Amman – Jordan, following a thrilling 3-2 victory over Saudi Arabia. The final was a closely fought contest but in the end Qatar‘s boys were able to combine their skill and experience to overpower the Saudi juinors and take home the championship title.
Four countries participated in the competition, including Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and hosts Jordan. Khalil Al Mohannadi, President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association, congratulated the players on their win. Representing Qatar at the championship were Aspire Academy students Mohammed Abdulwahhab Abdulhussein, Abdulrahman Mohsen Naji Al-Naggar, Abdulaziz Jassim Al-Abduulla and Nawaf Ahmed Al-Malki, amongst others.
Upon the team’s return to Doha, player Mohammed Abdulwahhab Abdulhussein said: “We have always done well at West Asian Championships and went into this tournament as favourites so the pressure was on. Although we struggled at the beginning of the championship, we saved our best for the final match against Saudi Arabia and came out on top of what was a very hard match. The victory not only gave us gold but it also confirmed our qualification for the Asian Junior Championships in Bangkok taking place in September. We are all looking forward to the next big championship in Thailand and our tough fixture list before the competition should help us prepare."
Qatar's Junior and Cadet national teams have now both guaranteed thier qualifitcaton for the 2016 Asia Junior & Cadet Championship, taking place in Thailand from September 16-23, 2016.