Oman TT team ends Asian campaign in Tashkent

MUSCAT: Oman’s national table tennis team has concluded its participation in the 2026 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, gaining valuable experience against some of the continent’s leading players. The championship is scheduled to conclude on Sunday. Oman was represented by a five-player squad comprising Muhannad al Balushi, Ahmed al Riyami, Ghassan al Ghassani, Bilal al Rashdi and Nasser al Balushi, under the technical supervision of Iranian head coach Omid Shams.
In the men’s doubles, Omani pair Ghassan al Ghassani and Bilal al Rashdi produced one of the team’s notable performances, defeating Tajikistan’s Alliev Mustafo and Odinaev Nekruz 3–2 to advance to the round of 32. However, their campaign ended in the following round after they suffered a 3–0 defeat against Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin and Juo Guan-Hong.
Oman’s other men’s doubles combination, Muhannad al Balushi and Ahmed al Riyami, exited the competition after losing 3–0 to Kazakhstan’s Kenzhigulov Aldas and Zhubanov Sanzhar. In the men’s singles, Ghassan al Ghassani lost 3–1 to Singapore’s Pang Koen in the round of 128, while Nasser al Balushi also suffered a 3–1 defeat against Tajikistan’s Abdullo Abdukodirov. Muhannad al Balushi was beaten 3–0 by AbdulWahhab Abdullah, while Bilal al Rashdi lost by the same score to Indonesia’s Pratama Afan. Ahmed Al Riyami faced a close contest against Jordan’s Taqi Al Din al Najdat but narrowly lost 3–2.
The continental championship provided Oman’s paddlers with an opportunity to test their technical abilities against strong Asian opposition and gain valuable international exposure. The event also serves as a qualification pathway for the 2027 World Table Tennis Championships Finals, adding further significance to the competition for participating nations.
ASIAN AGM
Meanwhile, the Oman Table Tennis Association (OTTA) delegation, led by chairman Abdullah bin Mohammed Bamakhlef, will attend the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) Annual General Meeting in Tashkent on Saturday. Oman’s delegation will also include Sajjad al Lawati, Vice-Chairman of OTTA, and Majid al Alawi, an OTTA board member.
The meeting is expected to address key issues concerning the development of table tennis across Asia, including the allocation of hosting rights for major continental competitions scheduled for 2027. The events under consideration include the 31st Asian Youth Championships, the 30th ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships, the ITTF-ATTU Asian Mixed Teams Championships, the 36th Asian Cup and the Asian Para Championships. The AGM will also feature elections to fill the remaining seats on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Council.