Dubai: The UAE national table tennis teams (men, youth under 19 and youth under 16) have left for Morocco to participate in the Arab championships in Rabat from July 24 to 31.
Dawood Abdul Rahman Al Hajiry, the UAE Table Tennis Association board of directors chairman, headed the delegation to Morocco along with some board members to support the team.
The UAE team held a 10- day training camp in Cairo and met with clubs Al Ahli, Jasco and Army team.
Ahmad Al Bahr, Table Tennis Association board member and head of the delegation to the Cairo training camp, praised the standard of all players during the training sessions in Egypt.
"The players benefited from the 10 days training camp in Cairo - training sessions were held in the morning and evening. The three teams, men's under 19 and under 16, showed fine form in the warm-up matches.
"It's a good sign that they will perform to a good standard in the Arab championships in Morocco," said Al Bahr.
The UAE teams are however preparing to face some tough competition from other Arab countries boasting very high standards in table tennis, including Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Italian Masimo Constantin, the UAE's coach, claimed the team is fit and ready for the Arab championships.
"I think the players will do well according to their standard in the training camp and we hope they achieve good results," said Constantin.
Constantin will train the senior and under 19 teams, while Ayman Ahmad trains the youth under 16 team.
UAE men's team: Rashid Abdul Hamid, Rashid Mohammad, Faisal Abbas, Jasim Linjawy.
Youth under 19 team: Marwan Mansour, Saeed Al Boloushy, Walid Ahmad, Hamid Mal Allah.
Youth under 16 team: Mohammad Linjawy, Hamad Mohammad Abdullah, Butti Saeed, Naser Linjawy, Saud Abdullah, Abdul Rahman Murad.
