TABLE TENNIS – Bahrain secured an historic berth last night in the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2026, to be held in London, England.
The kingdom’s senior men’s national team clinched the coveted spot after winning the Asian Regional Qualification Tournament, held in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which concluded last night.
The Bahrainis, composed of top paddlers Rashed Sanad, Mohamed Abbas, Husain Murtadha, and Salman Mohammed Ali, clinched first place – and the world championships berth – after edging past the host Saudis 3-2 in the final.
Following the affair, the national team celebrated with Bahrain Table Tennis Association (BTTA) president Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa and BTTA vice-president Abdulali Al Madah, who cheered them on from the stands in the title-decider.
According to a BTTA official, it is not the first time Bahrain have qualified for the world teams’ event, having already done so many years ago.
In last night’s final, the Bahrainis sealed their head-to-head after Abbas swept past Saudi’s Khalid Alshareif 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9).
That was an exciting finish to the see-saw contest, which saw the two teams split the first four individual matches.
Bahrain’s Rashed Sanad kicked things off with a 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8) win against Alshareif to give the nationals the early advantage. But then Abbas fell 2-3 (11-8, 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 9-11) to Saudi’s Ali Al Khadrawi in a tightly contested battle.
The Bahrainis then went behind after Murtadha lost 1-3 (5-11, 9-11, 12-10, 8-11) to Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi, but Sanad brought the match back on level terms when he battled hard to overcome Al Khadrawi 3-2 (15-13, 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10).
That set the stage for Abbas’s clean sweep against Alshareif in their title-clincher.
Earlier in the day yesterday, the Bahrainis defeated Qatar 3-2 to make it through to the final.
Sanad opened with a 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4) triumph against Abdullah Abdulwahhab, but then Abbas lost to Qatar’s Mohammed Abdulwahhab 2-3 (14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 8-11, 5-11).
Murtadha was then outclassed 1-3 (9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 12-14) to Ahmed Korani, and then Sanad beat Mohammed Abdulwahhab 3-1 (11-8, 11-13, 11-4, 11-8).
Abbas then sealed the result with a 3-0 (11-7, 13-11, 12-10) victory against Abdullah Abdulwahhab.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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