Ajman: A couple of surprising results threw the competition for the title wide open at the 13th GCC Beach Volleyball Championships currently being held in Ajman.
The annual beach volleyball tournament is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman.
The event is organised by the UAE Volleyball Association with support from the Ajman Executive Council.
The UAE ‘A' brightened their chances to go for the top spot with a stunning straight sets victory against last year's runners-up Saudi Arabia, while Qatar ‘A' secured an equally menacing 2-1 win against defending champions Oman ‘A' to throw the competition wide open.
The hosts, represented by the pair of Badr Al Manaei and Abdullah Obaid, put up an excellent display on the penultimate day of this competition to secure a telling 21-19, 21-17 win against Baker Falata and Zaid Suhaib representing Saudi Arabia ‘B'.
Going into the final day of this competition, this victory may well prove crucial to the UAE following their surprise loss to Bahrain ‘B' the previous day.
And helping the hosts further was when Qatar ‘A' rallied from a set down to beat defending champions Oman ‘A' 2-1.
Setback
After the Oman pair of Badr Asubhi and Khalifa Al Jabri took the first set, Qataris Abdul Habib and Nader Abu Bakr fought back and wrapped up the second at 21-15.
Both the Omani players got a setback due to some injuries incurred during the match, but they gamely kept fighting on till Habib and Abu Bakr prevailed in a tight third set 22-20.
Results
UAE ‘A' beat Saudi Arabia ‘B' 21-19, 21-17; Qatar ‘A' beat Oman ‘A' 21-23, 21-15, 22-20; Qatar ‘B' beat Kuwait ‘B' 21-14, 21-18.
