MUSCAT : The Omani national team player defeated Nigeria’s Emeruwa Ifeany by 2/1 (5-7, 6-2, 6-1) in the final clash to lift the trophy in the concluding day of the three-week event held at the tennis courts of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.

Moutasim Hamoud Sangour al Zadjali, Chairman of the Oman Tennis Association (OTA), presided over the awards ceremony, presenting accolades to the top winners across all categories following the final match.

Reflecting on his victory, Munir Al Rawahi expressed his delight, stating, “It is a great moment to be crowned as champion, and I am very delighted with this accomplishment. The final match was very tough, and I worked hard to secure the win. I extend my gratitude to the OTA for organizing this event, and I am eager for more success in the future.”

In boys U14 category, Ahmed Ehab won the gold medal and Mutaz Al Mazroui ended as runners up,while AbdulRahman Al Rahbi emerged victorious in the boys U-18 category after defeating Brejesh Sharun in a thrilling final match (6/1, 4/6, 10/7). Ahmed Ehab and Al Rahbi excelled in the boys doubles event with a thrilling win over Mutaz al Mazroui and Azzan al Busaidi.

Additionally, Aisha Al Busaidi claimed the title in the girls U18 category with an impressive performance against Majda Kamil who ended in second place with the match scores reading 6/5 and 6/2.

Veteran player Mohammed Al Yawaer won the Men’s Veteran Singles event of 50+ years, defeating his opponent Saad al Suliemani, and Jacqieline Verhaegen captured the title of the Women’s Veteran Singles event of 40+ years with her win against Serpil Demir with scores of 6/0 and 6/0. In the same category for 50+ years Elizabeth Schmid claimed the title following her win (3/6, 6/3, 10/7) over Triglet from South Africa.

The doubles events saw notable victories for various pairs, including Younis al Rawahi and Pereira G in the Men’s Pro doubles category, and the duo of Mohammed Al Yawer and Salim Abubaker in the Men’s Veteran doubles event.

As many as 160 players of various ages and nationalities took part in the tournament during the last three weeks. National team players showed top performance to register commendable results across different age groups events.

The OTA offered a total cash prize of RO 8,000 for the first place winners in each category in different disciplines, including men’s and women’s categories.

The event, re-launched after an absence of two years, aimed to create a competitive atmosphere among players and encourage residents of various nationalities in the Sultanate of Oman to contribute to the development of local competitions.

Speaking on the occasion, Moutasim Al Zadjali, Chairman of OTA, said: “It is great that Oman Open Tennis Championship is back strongly after two years with more than 160 players taking part in the event in different categories. Participating of this number of players is a great success and we are delighted to provide this environment for the national and expatriates players to compete.

“Hosting this kind of tournament acts as a great opportunity for local players to gear up for forthcoming official events, which includes national team’s participation in the Davis Cup, as well as some events in Bahrain soon. Oman had hosted recently a successful Central and West Asian qualification for World Cup in Muscat. There are future plans to host some more Asian events in the Sultanate of Oman and probably at ITF level,” he added.