Qatar’s Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi in action against India’s Sudhanshu Grover during his ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open first qualifying round match at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena yesterday.
Qatar’s top table tennis player Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi yesterday said he is keen to take his game forward by playing against the best players.
Ahmed Khalil produced a fighting win before losing in the second round of the qualifying round of the ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.
The Qatari eased past India’s Sudhanshu Grover 4-1 to reach the second round of the qualifying. In the evening session, Ahmed lost to Romania’s Hunor Szocs in six games.
Playing aggressively from the start, Ahmed won 11-8, 11-13, 14-12, 11-9, 14-12 against Grover on day one of the $300,000 tournament at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena.
Ahmed dropped the second set but recovered quickly to take the next three for his 4-1 win. In the second clash of the day, Ahmed lost to Szocs 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8
In the day’s other action, China’s Chuqin Wang beat Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Hajaji 11-1, 11-2, 11-2, 11-1 for a 4-0 win while Slovakia’s Samuel Novota beat home hope Abdulla Al Sada 11-6, 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 to reach the second round.
Germany’s Steffen Mengel beat Qatar’s Fahed Al Mughanne 11-6, 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 while Kore Republic’s Minhyeok Kim eased past Qatar’s Ahmed Al Awlaqi 11-2, 11-2, 11-3, 11-7.
Ahmad, despite his exit from the tournament, was thrilled following his win over Grover.
“I am not participating in this tournament just to make up the numbers,” Ahmed said.
“I am here to learn, to fight and to improve. I want to do well for my country and that is my main goal,” he said.
“Hopefully I will keep learning and do well in the next round,” he added.
“No one enters a match thinking about losing. What is important is that you play all the competitions. Thank God, I have succeeded in winning and winning against a strong player,” he said.
“Yes, I was injured with a broken foot and I missed two months because of my injury. But I have returned with determination and strength. I always look forward to raising my country’s name, especially when participating in this kind of top events,” the young Qatari said.
Meanwhile it was announced yesterday that two-time winner Vladimir Samsonov has withdrawn from the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.
The 42-year-old reported a sprained left ankle after taking part in the Table Tennis Champions League earlier this month and will now miss the Qatar Open, which he had won twice so far in his career (in 2003 and 2015).
Having managed to cancel his participation ahead of deadline, there will be no sanction for Samsonov.
Restricted movement in his left ankle joint means that the Belarusian legend has been forecast limited physical activity for 10-14 days, as he bids to be back fit in time for the World Championships in Budapest between April 21-28.
