16th Arab Cup Table Tennis Championship: Tunisian Paddlers Dominate

Tunisian paddlers dominated the opening day's action of the 16th Arab Cup Table Tennis Championships, which began at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) on Tuesday.

The six-day championships, which has attracted more than 100 men and women players from 15 countries, was officially inaugurated by H E Sheikh Saad al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs, at a simple opening ceremony held in the evening.

Organised by the Oman Table Tennis Committee (OTTC), the ceremony began with the visiting delegations welcomed by Abdullah Bamkhalef, the OTTC chief.

Action, however, began in the morning session with the U12 boys’ and girls’ matches.

Tunisia's Yousuf Mustafa Attiya and Khalil Murad Satta led Group A and Group D respectively in boys' category after the early rounds. Fadwa al Qarsi was on top in Group A in girls' section while her countrymate Baqlooti Manal was second in Group B, a point behind Egypt's Hana Mahmood. Egypt's Yousuf Ameen and Mohammed Waleed were on top of Group B and Group C respectively in boys' section. Waleed shared the top spot with Lebanon's Mohamed al Habsh.

Oman's Mohammed al Balushi earned two points in Group A while Al Munthir al Ghassani also collected two points in Group B. The third Omani player, Muath al Shehi, also picked up two points.

In girls' category, three players – Sara Abdulaziz (Egypt), Shouq Sa'ad (Qatar) and Letishia Azaz (Lebanon) shared two points each in Group C.

The Arab Cup features matches in five categories – U12, U15, U18, U21 and senior - over the next five days played in morning (10am-1pm) and evening (4-7pm) sessions.