Sunday 22 / June / 2025
MUSCAT: It is time for the powerhouses to regain glory. Both the clubs – Ahli-Sidab and Al Nasr - have been dominating the Oman hockey scene for decades and share a total of 20 titles between them in the 51 years of the history of the most prestigious competition in the Sultanate of Oman – His Majesty’s Cup Hockey Championship.
Sheikh Salim Mustahail Al Mashani, Advisor at the Diwan of Royal Court, will be the chief guest and give away the trophy.
On Tuesday, last edition’s runners-up Ahli-Sidab will clash with Al Nasr, which finished third in the previous edition, for the coveted trophy in the 52nd edition at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The match will kick off at 7 pm.
Earlier on Sunday, 11-time champions Seeb edged Salalah 6-5 in penalty shoot-out to finish third.
Over the past 51 years, clubs from Muscat and Dhofar have dominated the winners’ list until Sohar Club broke the hegemony on January 5, 2022 with a title, edging past Ahli-Sidab in a penalty shootout.
Ahli-Sidab have won the title a record 12 times, the last of which came in 2021, and the Muscat powerhouse will be aiming for the 13th trophy. Coming in their way for that bid would be Salalah giants, Al Nasr, who have to their credit eight titles. The last time both the teams faced in the summit clash was in 2019 when Al Nasr beat Ahli-Sidab 2-1 for their eighth title.
In the current edition, Al Nasr topped the group standings with 13 points after the final round of matches. Ahli-Sidab with 11 points came second to earn the right to meet Al Nasr in the summit clash.
Seeb finished in third place (7 points) while Salalah were in fourth place (6) and Bausher finished fifth (5). Bottom-placed Nizwa failed to open their account.
Speaking on the eve of the final, Al Nasr head coach Mohammed al Batrani said: “We want to win this edition of HM Cup final as we missed out in the semifinal of the Oman Hockey League (OHA).”
He added “All our players are in good shape for the final. We are ready to put up a good challenge.”
Ahli-Sidab would be aiming for a domestic double, having won the OHA League in October after beating Seeb 4-1 in the final.
Ahli-Sidab head coach Aiman al Katheri said, “his team is in top form”. He said: “We want to conclude our good performance in this edition of HM Cup with the trophy. We expect a strong match and our players are prepared for it.”
Ahli-Sidab captain Salah bin Nasser al Saadi with their Indian recruit Ravinder Valmiki and Al Nasr skipper Bassim al Durbait with their Indian player Jasjeet Singh attended the pre-final press conference at the Oman Olympic Committee headquarters on Monday.
The oldest domestic tournament in Oman – His Majesty’s Cup Hockey Championship – has a glorious past and has stood witness to some of the most exciting and memorable matches, clubs’ rivalry, individual brilliance, foreign stars, fans’ love and fury.
Ahli-Sidab won the 50th edition in March, 2021, as the event was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020
The winner of the prestigious competition receives a glittering trophy and a cash award of OMR40,000 while the runner-up team gets OMR25,000 with the third-placed club taking home OMR15,000.
