Muscat, Nov 1
The Oman Beach Pro Tour Future was formally inaugurated on Tuesday in Suhar under organisation of Oman Volleyball Association (OVA) in coordination with FIVB, the international governing body of volleyball.
As many as 28 teams are taking part in the event representing 15 countries across the world who are vying for the title of the championship.
Mohammed bin Sulaiman al Kindi, Governor of North Al Batinah, was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony in presence of Basil bin Ahmed al Rawas, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Sports and Youth, Eng Ibrahim al Maqbali and other dignitaries in Suhar Municipal Park.
The four-day event registered strong competitions on the opening day on Tuesday.
In the morning sessions result of the preliminary qualification, Oman’s pair Abdul Salam al Shibli and Al Mandhar al Muzaini lost against Palvins and Samoilovs M from Latvia 2-0 at Court 1 with scores of 13-21, 12-21.
Earlier, Chinese pair Li Zhuoxin and J J Liu defeated their Japanese opponents Shoji and Ikeda 19-21, 21-14, 15-9 in Court 1. Australia duo’s Pearse and Howat beat their compatriots Abela and Anyang 21-18, 21-23, 8-15 in Court 2.
In the key matches of evening sessions, Chinese pair Li Zhuoxin and JJ Liu managed to register their second successive win as they edged their rivals Bolivian duo of Perez and Corro 21-15, 21-7.
Denmark’s Mollgaard and Houmann beat Australians Pearse and Howat 21-11, 21-16.
The world class volleyball tournament, which concludes on Friday, will feature participation of teams from Latvia, Turkey, Lithuania, Brazil, Bolivia, Denmark, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, China, Austria, Australia, Czech, Gambia and Japan.
Oman teams which will play in the main draw are represented by Mazin al Hashmi and Haitham al Shuraiqi in Team A while Ahmed al Hosni and Hood al Jalboubi will feature in Team B.
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