Qatar SC players and officials pose with the Amir Cup Table Tennis Championship trophy after winning the final against Al Sadd, yesterday.
Doha: Qatar SC yesterday completed a hat-trick of Amir Cup Table Tennis Championship titles after they beat Al Sadd in the final at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium Indoor Hall.
Qatar SC won 3-1 after losing the first match of the title-decider as they lifted the trophy for the fourth time in history.
Khalil Al Mohannadi, President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), crowned the winners in the presence of Sheh Sahim bin Abdulaziz, Vice President of Qatar SC.
Khaled Al Kuwari received the League Shield as well and the junior title Al Sadd won for the 2019-2020 season.
H E Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al Thani, First Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) watched the match.
Qatar SC yesterday succeeded in achieving the title for the third time in a row having won it in 2002, 2018 and 2019. Qatar SC have also won the championship on four occasions. On the other hand, Al Sadd failed to reclaim the title missing from its trophy cabinet since the 2014-2015 season when they beat Al Arabi in the final. Yesterday’s final was a repeat of the 2017-18 title clash which also won by Qatar SC.
Al Sadd have won the prestigious championship five times (1997, 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015) besides remaining runners-up six times.
In the final, Al Sadd drew first blood as their Chinese player Chen Hao defeated Qatar SC’s Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi (11-6, 11-8, 11-6).
Qatar SC regrouped through Slovenian player Bojan Tokic who beat Al Sadd’s Walid Nasser (11 -1, 11-4, 11-2) as both teams drew level at 1-1.
In the third match, Qatar SC maintained superiority after Mohammed Abdel Wahab beat Al Sadd’s Ahmed Muthanna (11-6, 11-9, 7-11 and 11-7).
In the fourth match, Qatar SC’s Tokic beat Hao (11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9) to seal title for his side.
The two teams qualified for yesterday’s final after Qatar SC ranked top in Group A with six points. Under the leadership of its coach Walid Samir, Qatar SC succeeded beating Al Arabi in the semi-final 3-1.
Al Sadd occupied the top spot in Group B with 8 points. Al Sadd beat Al Khor in the semi-finals with a scoreline of 3-0.
