Qatar SC and Al Sadd players are seen in action during their Amir Cup Table Tennis Championship matches in Doha yesterday
Doha: Qatar SC and Al Sadd yesterday reached the final of the 2019-20 Amir Cup Table Tennis Championship. Qatar SC, the defending champions aiming to complete a hattrick of titles tomorrow, beat Al Arabi while Al Sadd eased past Al Khor in the semi-finals played yesterday.
Playing on their home territory at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium’s Indoor Hall, Qatar SC have clearly looked the team to beat in what is last season’s Amir Cup championship that was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe.
Yesterday’s matches were played in front of a small crowd, the first for the week-long championship. The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) President Khalil Al Mohannadi, Muhammad Abdullah Saleh, Secretary General, Ali Sultan Al-Muftah, Assistant Secretary, and Muhammad AlRumaihi, Executive Director, were also present to watch the matches.
The final match of the tournament will be held tomorrow at Qatar SC Indoor Hall at 6:00pm while the match for the third and fourth places will be held today between Al Khor and Al Arabi, the losing semi-finalists. Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdulaziz, Vice President of Qatar SC, was pleased after his team won the semi-final against Al Arabi.
“This is a great performance from the players. I want the players to work harder in the final and complete a hattrick of titles. I am confident they can do it,” Abdulaziz said yesterday. Abdul Qader, Director of table tennis team of Qatar SC, yesterday said:
“Our ambition is to win the Cup for the third time in a row. This will be history in the making as we have never done this before. We will fight for that. I want to thank His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Suhaim, President of the Qatar SC, and his deputy, Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdulaziz, for supporting the table tennis team at Qatar Sports Club. I would also like to thank Faisal Al Shaabi, the club’s general manager, and Khaled Al Kuwari, head of the team, for their support.”
Saeed Mahfouz, head of the table tennis team at Al Sadd, yesterday said: “I thank the players for the manner in which they have shown great team spirit in this championship. They showed great fight against a good side like Al Khor. We have reached the final with a gutsy show. I am confident that we can win the final also. It may look like a difficult task but the players have enough skill to go all the way.”
The championship has been staged with strict safety and health protocols implemented by the Qatar Olympic Committee and QTTA under guidelines from the Ministry of Public Health.
