Sharjah Women’s Sports Club, Jordan’s Mo’atah Club and Kuwait’s Al Fatat Club showed daunting dominance and overwhelming determination in the opening table tennis matches at the fourth – and largest – edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament 2018 (AWST).Bringing together 68 clubs and 1,000 athletes and admin personnel from 16 countries, AWST is taking place under the theme “The World is Your Court… Together Victorious’. until February 12, under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) and Chairperson of Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation (SWSF).
During the first day of the table tennis event, involving Jordan’s Mo’atah Club, the runner up of the 2016 edition, Kuwait’s Al Fatat Club, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Green Club, Bahraini Club and Sharjah Women’s Sports Club, the gauntlet was thrown down – and picked up – by both minnows and giants alike.With a convincing start, Jordan’s Mo’atah Club took the first three games against Jeddah Green Club in their stride, producing a solid display to win the first set 11-3, 11-5, 11-5, followed by a 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 victory in the second and an emphatic three game whitewash of 11-0, 11-0, 11-0 in the third. It appeared a little more than a warm-up for the Jordanians and nothing less than a defeat for the Saudis.
In a much tighter affair, the second match saw Kuwait’s Al Fatat play Bahrain Club where, despite a three sets to nil win, the Kuwaiti’s were pushed every step of the way. The first set with went to the wire with a 3-0 win for Kuwait’s Manwa Majid Al Shammari.In set two, Bahrain put up slightly less of a struggle, losing out by 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 but showed their resilience again in the third set with an 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 defeat. Although the results may not reflect the balance of play, it is the win that counts.Despite some highly impressive performances on the opening day, it was without doubt Sharjah Women’s Sports Club and Al Bahrain Club who had the easiest victories as they were both awarded 3-0 wins following the no-show of their opponents Djibouti Team.After Jordan’s stunning display and sweeping victory in the first match against the Saudi team, the Mo’atah players look serious contenders for the title, especially after their Their second match of AWST 2018, against Kuwait, reaffirmed their confidence with a three sets to nil win, losing just one of the nine games. The Kuwaitis still have plenty of class, but it’s Jordan who are flying business.In the second match for Sharjah Women’s Sports Club, the Jeddah Green Club were left either strolling or standing, as the hosts romped home by three sets to nil, losing just 23 points in nine games.