Muscat, Dec 11
Oman’s blue badge umpire, Aisha al Saidi, took part at the ITTF World Youth Championships 2022 which concluded on Sunday in Tunisia after seven days of thrilling action. The globe’s best U19 and U15 table tennis players competed from December 4-11 in Tunis city. Aisha was the only Arab woman umpire to officiate the matches.
Al Saidi, who hails from Saham, officiated a series of games in the event including in group stages and final rounds.
The championship witnessed events in singles, mixed doubles and teams category in different age groups with a total of 14 titles up for grabs. The event was held at Salle Omnisport de Rades in Rades.
As many as 300 players from both categories representing 33 countries took part in the championships.
France, China, USA, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, India, Peru, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, South Korea, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Spain, Australia and
hosts Tunisia were represented in the world event.
The Chinese duo of Lin Shidong and Chen Yuanyu, managed to clinch the U-19 boys double title after beating Japan Hayate and Belgium Adrien 3-1 in the final match.
In the girls category, Japanese pair Miyuu Kihara and Miwa Harimoto lifted the trophy and bagged the gold medal as they won against French players Charlotee Lutz and Prithika Pavade.
In team competitions, China team players dominated to grab the boys title after they defeated Poland 3-1 in a thrilling final match while the Chinese girls were crowned champions after they beat France in the final. China also proved their top show in the U-15 competitions as they dominated in most of the games including teams competitions for boys and girls.
