UAE under-14 pair retain GCC junior title

Dubai: The UAE pair of Fahad Al Janahi and Abdullah Al Ahli successfully defended their Under-14 boys' doubles title at the GCC Junior Tennis Championships that concluded in Bahrain on Thursday.

With junior players from Kuwait dominating in the five-day event, the top-seeded UAE duo did well to win 6-2, 6-0 against the Kuwaiti pair of Ali Al Herz and Hussain Jamal in the final.

Singles showdown

Elsewhere, Faisal Al Rebdi of Saudi Arabia won the boys' under-14 singles title with a fighting 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Ahmad Mohammad Rasool of Bahrain.

The Under-18 competition finals were all-Kuwaiti affairs, with Nasser Al Obaidli getting past Mohammad Reda to clinch the singles title with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win, while Al Obaidli helped himself to a second honour when he teamed up with Mohammad Abdaal to beat compatriots Mohammad Abdul Reda and Abdul Hameed Al Shatti 6-2, 6-0 in the doubles.

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Tennis Federation, was the chief guest and presented the trophies to the winners. Shaikh Ahmad said he was pleased with the progress made by some of the countries at the junior level, indicating that the sport is moving in the right direction.

Only four of the six member nations participated in the tournament, with Oman and Qatar preferring to keep away.

Khalid Al Ali from the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club was the head of the UAE delegation, while Hesham Bramly was the coach.