
Top place in the group, somewhat against expectations for the combination of Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla and Nawaf Al-Malki brought smiles to the faces of the home supporters, as play in the first stage of the Cadet Boys’ Team event at the Aspire 2016 Qatar Junior and Cadet Open in Doha came to a close on Thursday 17th February.Success against the Saudi Arabia ‘A’ Team duo of Turki Al-Mutairi and Nawaf Altaher by three matches to nil brought their initial phase efforts to a conclusion.Abdelbasset Chaichi However, it was the hard fought three-two win against the second seeded Algerian partnership of Abderrahmane Sebia and Abdelbasset Chaichi earlier in the day that had raised the eyebrows.Abdelbasset Chaichi beat both Nawaf Al-Malki (7-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 15-13) and Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla (12-10, 11-8, 11-7) but that was the sum total of Algerian success. Abderrahmane Sebia suffered at the hands of Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla (11-3, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10) and in opposition to Nawaf Al-Malki (10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8); the one remaining success for the Qataris came in the crucial doubles with a straight games success being recorded (12-10, 11-6, 12-10).First Match Difficult “The first match is always difficult, I felt stressed, my hand was shaking”, said Nawaf Al-Malki. “Later I became confident, against Saudi Arabia, it was much more comfortable.”Feeling the pressure at the start of the day, it was the same for Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla.“I felt tense but I tried to keep calm, I think today my service and receive was good”, said Abdulaziz Al-Abdulla. “Today in both doubles matches we played well; we have played together for many years.”Second Place for Saudi Arabia Earlier Saudi Arabia ‘A’ had beaten Algeria by three matches to two and thus secured second position in the group and a passport to the main draw.Progress for Qatar ‘A’ in the Cadet Boys’ Team event, it was the same for Qatar ‘B’ represented by Abdulaziz Mohd and Yousef Hussain; they finished their group in second spot behind the top seeded Iran ‘A’ duo of Amin Ahmadian and Ali Akbar Shoari.Success for Iran ‘A’, there was also success for Iran ‘B’, the combination formed by Morteza Rezaei and Mahdi Madankan secured first place ahead of Tunisia’s Aboubaker Bourass and Youssef Ben Attia.More Qatari Success Meanwhile, in the Junior Boys’ Team event there was further success for Qatar. Partnering Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, Mohammed Abdulwahhab secured first place in his group ahead of the combination formed by Iran’s Mohammad Bashiri and India‘s Mohammed Rahman.Thailand Notable success for Qatar, there was also notable success for Thailand. Sirawit Puangthip and Pattaratorn Passara duly topped their group as did Yanapong Panagitgun in partnership with India’s Mudit Dani.Respective second places went to Iran’s Hamid Shams and Amir Hossein Hodaei, alongside the combination of Bahrain’s Rashed Sanad and Jordan’s Khaled Khader.Conclusion Play in the Junior Boys’ Team event concludes on Thursday 18th February.