The Omani national under-14 tennis team has achieved commendable results at the commencement of the third edition of the Asian Junior Championship, hosted in the capital of Qatar, Doha, and attended by teams from various Asian nations.
In the singles category, the initial two days witnessed exceptional performances. Abdulrahman al Rahbi, representing Oman, secured a victory over Qatar's Abdullah Abdullah with a score of 6-1, 6-0. Furthermore, Moataz al Mazrouei emerged victorious against Qatar's Tamim Samer with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Conversely, Azzan al Busaidi was defeated by the UAE's Ali al Ali with a score of 4-6, 4-6.
In the doubles matches, Abdulrahman al Rahbi, paired with his Turkmenistani teammate Karimgeldi Filibekov, achieved a notable victory over the Qatari duo, clinching the match with scores of 6-2, 6-1. However, Al Mazrouei and Azzan al Busaidi were unable to match the Qatari pair of Abdullah and Abdulrahman, losing with scores of 6-4, 6-2.
The second day of the tournament saw Al Mazrouei emerge victorious over Brazilian player Daniel with a score of 6-4, 6-3. Conversely, Abdulrahman al Rahbi suffered a defeat against Saudi player Salman al Yami with scores of 3-6, 2-6. In the doubles category, Al Rahbi and his partner Karimgeldi were defeated by the Indian-Kazakh duo in a close match with scores of 4-6, 3-6.
In his commentary on the players' performances, the team's coach, Sofian Dube, highlighted the players' commendable performance on the first day of the tournament, noting several victories and high levels of performance. He also observed a significant improvement in the players' skills despite the disparity in experience with their competitors.
He emphasized that the tournament is in progress and that the team's participation is aimed at securing ranking points, in addition to the technical advantages and skill development opportunities that these competitions offer. He expressed confidence in the team's ability to perform better in forthcoming matches, underscoring the importance of gaining valuable experience from this tournament.
