Ambassador of the Republic of Guyana Safraaz Ahmad Shadood was crowned champion of the first edition of Ramadan Table Tennis Championship for Ambassadors after defeating Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia Drago Lovric in the final at the Lusail Sports Hall.
A number of ambassadors accredited to the State of Qatar took part in the tournament organised by Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA).
Saturday’s 60 matches that were played on seven tables saw Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia Drago Lovric, Ambassador of the Republic of Peru Jose Benzaquen Perea, and Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti Jean-Marie Francois Junior Guillaume advancing to the semi-finals, alongside Shadood.
President of the QTTA Khalil bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi expressed his happiness with the distinguished atmosphere witnessed by the tournament in its first edition.
Al Mohannadi, who is also President of the Arab and Asian Table Tennis Unions and First Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the QTTA decided to organise the tournament after the ambassadors welcomed the idea to be added to the QTTA’s annual Ramadan tournaments.
“The participation of 24 ambassadors in the first edition is wonderful, and everyone witnessed the distinguished atmosphere during the competitions,” Al Mohannadi said, voicing hopes that the tournament would be organised in all Ramadan seasons.
Assistant Secretary of the QTTA, Ali Sultan Al Muftah hailed the competitiveness of the tournament, adding that the great interest of the ambassadors in the international and professional tournaments organised in Qatar prompted the QTTA to organise this Ramadan tournament. (Gulf Times)
Editor’s Note: On his way to championship success, Ambassador Shadood, a former national junior player for Guyana, won games against Ambassadors to Qatar from Mozambique, Croatia (twice), Peru and Djibouti.
