Abdullah Mohammed Al Tamimi in action in this file photo.
Qatar’s squash hero Abdulla Al Tamimi – who gave a scare to World No.3 Tarek Momen s before going down in a third round five-game thriller to the eventual PSA World Championship finalist - has set a few goals for himself in the years to come.
Getting back his ranking back is his immediate priority while winning the World Championship and to be among the top-ten player list are one the long term goals the 24-year-old has on his mind.
“My goal now is focusing on the tournament in London, and then have a really hard winter camp at Aspetar in December, doing altitude training, and get ready for the next season,” said Tamimi, while speaking to journalists after signing a sponsorship agreement with Al Bidda Group.
“I will try to get back the ranking that I lost due to the surgery. I went from 23 to 47. The goal is to try and get back close to that ranking,” said the Aspire Academy product, who reached the third round of the PSA World Championship in Qatar after defeating two Frenchman in the first two rounds.
“Over the long run, I want to be top 10, I want to be world champion. I feel good about it. Hopefully in the future it is coming soon,” said Tamimi, who reached an all-time career high of 23 in 2018, during which he won the Malaysian Open.
After his sterling performance in the ongoing World Championship, in which he two higher ranked players, and depending on his results in the next few tournaments this month, Tamimi is expected to move up a few places on the PSA ranking computer at the end of this month.
Tamimi was happy that he is associated with a Qatari company.
“It is always good to have branding of a Qatari company. It will give me more motivation to do everyone proud in the country. Really pleased on signing an agreement today with Sheikh Suhaim bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani and Al Bidda Group. And hopefully it will continue for many many years Insha Allah,” he said about the new sponsorship agreement.
“For me, my priority is my job, for this country, make everyone proud, and do something good for this country, because the country has done a lot for me. Since, I was young, especially with Aspire Academy and Squash Federation as well. So to have these companies and people, Qatari companies supporting is always a good thing. It always gives that extra motivation,” he added.
Tamimi is grateful that lot of people came to support him in all the three matches he played during the PSA World Championship and during past events.
“For me I just love the support. I just love the people, they are watching their son, brother, depending on how old they are. So it is always good. Sometimes it puts you under pressure, but this time I was enjoying, and that’s when I perform my best. I tried not to look outside the court while I am playing. I had no idea who was watching, it was only after the match. It worked out pretty well,” he added.
Tamimi said the support of local companies argues well for sports and sports people “They will be supporting me financially. It means a lot coming from Qatari people and companies, it means that they care, especially because individual sports like squash don’t always have the media coverage behind them. This will create more and more coverage, which is great.”
