Waleed al Nairi claimed the title of Oman Squash league (Muscat Governorate level) in the premier category for the month of March. Waleed topped the group order by 26 points while Hussain Ahmed claimed the runner-up spot and Tahir al Barwani finished third.
Oman Squash League for Muscat Governorate is run by Oman Squash Committee (OSC) in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The league started in March and will run until December this year. The OSC aimed from the league event to ensure providing a proper environment for squash lovers to play their favourite sport under the frame of domestic competition. The event will help to explore the new faces and top players in squash who will represent the national team in the external forthcoming events. Moreover, the league is a good opportunity for all the players to play more matches and provide a competitive environment among them.
The league is divided into three categories of premier, first division and second division. The league will be held every month from March to December. Each category will feature around six players and the matches will be held among them from one round. The winner will be the one who collects the maximum number of points from all the games.
Rashid Ali captured the title of first division league as he managed to earn 29 points to finish on top. Said al Hajri came in second with 24 points while Obaid Ur Rehman ended in the third position with 15 points.
Joseph Feghali bagged the title of second division league as he ended the March round by 24 points while his rivals Taghlib al Barwani ended as runner-up with 13 points and Zeyn Ali came in third with 12 points.
SPREADING SQUASH
Tahir al Barwani, member of OSC and tournament director, said the target of Oman Squash League (Muscat Governorate level) is to spread the squash sport in the Sultanate of Oman. “We are keen to increase the number of squash players in Oman and organising such events will encourage the youth to participate and play squash.”
“Having regular squash events throughout the year will help develop the technical performance of the players. Also, this will ensure players' availability and create a proper competition zone among them. Thanks to all the players in different categories who are taking part in the league and we are eager to see more players,” he added.
Al Barwani thanked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for their continuous support. “Special thanks to the Ministry for sponsoring the event and we are looking forward to more support from the private sector,” he said.
COMPETITIVE SPIRIT
The winner of first division league, Rashid Ali, said the competition has been great. “Ultimately, it’s about the camaraderie and the friends you make with fierce competitive spirit when on court. A special thanks to all the participants and Tahir al Barwani for his valuable efforts. If there were no participants, there would never be a winner. Some win and others learn,” he said.
“Winning and learning are part of the game. It does feel nice to win the league at the age of 50, be fit enough to play and get bragging rights for a month. At the end of it, in the words of Sir Winston Churchill ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts’," he concluded.
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