JEDDAH, 5 April — All-conquering DHL claimed the LG Cup doubles trophy by beating Sarawat Super Stores 21-11, 21-9 and 21-14 in the ongoing LG Cup Table Tennis Tournament being played at the Al Hamra Sofitel Hotel.
It was a tough fight between DHL and Sarawat, but the expereienced duo Ashit and Anuja maintained their supremacy of table tennis with extensive experience and background. They won in three sets out of five.
This is DHL’s second victory after they won the Team Event Final of the same competition.
LG CupTable Tennis Tournament reached its height of interest when a cheering crowd witnessed some 22 matches played last Friday.
It was a day for doubles and all the teams participated with full fervor. Excellent table tennis was witnessed and teams tried hard to compete with each other. Young LG Cup Table Tennis mascot was running around amusing guests and spectators.
In the first doubles, United Naghi outplayed MedNet in straight sets 21-9 and 21-18. Doubles were played on the basis of three matches and the team which won two out of three matches, was declared the winners.
United Naghi’s Raymund Davis played very well and made it clear that Naghi was superior. Marbin from United Naghi held his position and played defensively.
Blue Birds got the upper hand of Thamer International School Team 2. A. T. Pillai of Blue Birds played a superior game and got points for most of his backhand strokes. Being a young team, Thamer International played very well and hoped for the best for the next year.
Royal Sun Alliance also advanced with straight sets victory over Thamer Intenational Team 1. Agasty of Royal Sun Alliance performed well and scored most points. The score was 21-13 and 21-10.
VIP Travel Club scored an upset victory over Riyadh House Establishment. Riyadh House once considered best team suffered severe blows as nobody expects that the kind of this team will lose. However, with good partnership between Rushdi Sherwani and Rehan Khan made it easy for VIP Travel to thump their rivals 21-12 and 21-15 Rehan Khan received applauds from the crowd for his best foot work and back hand shots.
With this victory, VIP Travel boasted of reaching finals against tournament’s best team DHL.
Saudi National Insurance Co. (SNIC) defeated Al-Esayi United with the score of 21-6 and 21-4. Asadullah Ghalib of SNIC played well and scored most points.
Next set of matches was played between NCSC and E.A. Juffali in which NCSC won two sets out of three. The scores were 21-16, 21-19 and 23-21, proving to be the most interesting set of matches. First match was won by Juffali and the rest of the two sets were won by NCSC. Al-Suhaimi Pump Systems defeated Al-Hamra Sofitel Hotel Team in straight sets. First match was at 21-12 and the second at 21-11. Stylish Balbeer of Al-Suhaimi impressed the spectators. His performance was appreciated by the crowd as they cheered his win. Entering the second round, the winning teams played against each other. Competition became tough as the quality of matches became superior. Some classic table tennis was witnessed and about 200 spectators enjoyed the fast and moving game.
The general ganager of LG Electronics, H. K. Seo was also attended the matches along with the other LG staffs. Seo conducted draws for the singles trophy matches.
During the second round of doubles competition, Royal Sun Alliance defeated Jeddah Graphic Center and entered quarterfinal stage. The scores were 21-16 and 21-18. Winning both sets Royal Sun Alliance gave good performance.
IAP defeated United Naghi and entered quarterfinal. Father and son team of Syed Shah Alam and Syed Faraz Alam demonstrated good team work and total control over the game. The score was 21-11 and 21-18.
VIP Travel Club had an easy win over Arab News, as Rehan and Rushdi defeated K.S. Ramkumar and Arshad Raza. The score was 21-4 and 21-6 and VIP entered quarterfinals, which they played against Royal Sun Alliance and lost. Royal Sun Alliance played all three matches and the fight was very interesting.
Mansoor Abdul Rehman of Electronic Workshop proved the quality of Saudi players in Saudi Arabia. His swift moves and tactical placement won him the applauds from the crowd. Individually he became the favorite but could not reach the top due to lack of partnership and support in the game.
Most interesting fact of the day was that Sarawat Super Stores Team defeated Tokyo Marine and qualified for the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals they faced SNIC. Later Sarawat played semifinals against Royal Sun Alliance and won the set of three matches. Sarawat entered the finals which they played against DHL, in LG Doubles.
DHL qualified for the doubles final by beating IAP.
