Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Muscat: Pakistan’s Arslan Khan won the 2018 Open Squash Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
The tournament, organised by the Sports and Individual Sports Section of the Department of Sports Activity at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, saw the participation of 42 Omani players and residents of the Sultanate.
The tournament was held under the patronage of Sheikh Ali bin Saeed Fadel, legal expert at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, in the presence of Mohammed bin Sulaiman Al Hamdi, Director of the Sports Activities Department at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, and people who attended and enjoyed the competition.
Arslan won against Omar Khan in the final, which was quite exciting and challenging. Arslan took the lead in the first half against Omar 11-5, but in the second half, Omar was able to equalise the cuff and win with a score of 11/8.
In the third half, Arslan managed to win 11/7. In the fourth and decisive game, Arslan won against Omar.
In the semi-finals, Arslan beat Taher Al Barwani 3-0 and Omar defeated Othman Khawaja 3-0.
In the pre-quarters, Muhannad Al Balushi beat Mohammed Atoum 2-0 and Arslan defeated Mutasim Al-Noufli 2-0. Chris Ali Mohammad Danesh won 2-0 and Omar beat Taher Al-Moashri 2-0. Yusuf Khan defeated Ali Hamza Yasser 2-0 and Hussein Al-Lootia won against Salim Al-Maqbali.
Sheikh Ali bin Saeed Fadel, legal expert at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, said: “We enjoyed the final match of the 2018 Open Squash Championship organised by the Sports and Individual Sports Section of the Department of Sports at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
No doubt, squash is a popular sport and we have seen the remarkable conclusion of a successful championship.”
Needs more attention
He added: “The game needs more attention for more development. It should have an independent entity for partnerships at the regional or international levels. Omani players by nature are always able to compete in any field of sports and have potential. Sheikh Saad bin Mohammed Al Murof Al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs, pays great attention to sports.
He concluded by saying: “Squash started to take shape in the Sultanate and currently sees multiple competitions in the provinces of the Sultanate, especially as there is a tournament during the Salalah Tourism Festival, which sees the participation of a large number of people, and the Ministry of Sports Affairs pays great attention to this. This department is making great efforts to find support from the private sector to sponsor such important competitions.”
Successful tournament
“Praise God for the success of the tournament and the efforts of the Ministry of Sports Affairs in terms of supervision and follow-up and providing all the means necessary to make this tournament a success by all standards. The Oman Open Squash 2018 is a tournament that attracts a large number of players and fans, and we hope in the future there is a strong base of the national team representing the Sultanate in the Gulf, Asian and Arab forums.
Introduce squash
“The aim of this tournament was to introduce squash and try to spread it among various groups of the society and to develop the game, in addition to the creation of organisational expertise of the Ministry of Sports Affairs and to raise the practice level and try to popularise the game in the Sultanate and put it on the agenda of the Directorate General for sports activities,” he added.
He concluded by thanking the competent arbitration team, Talal Al Akkoudi, Yasir Mahfouz and Taher Al Moashri, for their efforts in managing the matches.
