ASPIRE Students Shine at GCC Squash Championships

ASPIRE students and brothers, Abdulla Al-Tamimi, Ahmad Al-Tamimi, brought home the gold in the recent 15th GGC Squash Championships held in Kuwait (11-14 November 2009). The two squash players both secured gold medals with Abdulla winning his in the Under-15 age group and elder brother, Ahmad, in the Under-19s. Abdulla won his gold in the Under-15s with a convincing performance against Kuwaiti player, Ali Abdulqader, winning 11/4, 11/4 and 11/6 in the final. His brother, Ahmad, had a more difficult time winning his gold but held out to beat his opponent, Yousif Nizar, also from Kuwait. Ahmad staged a great comeback from two games down to take the match in an extremely tight final game finishing with a scoreline of 16/14. There were also other strong individual performances from ASPIRE players with Abdullah Al-Mass finishing 6th in the Under-15s and Khalid Al-Handawi also securing sixth place in the Under-19s and Omar Abdullah eighth place in the same age category. Individual success was not the only achievement for ASPIRE’s young squash players at the GCC Championships. Qatar’s Under-15 national team took the silver medal, narrowly losing out to hosts, Kuwait, for the top spot. Similarly, in the Under 19s event Qatar also scored silver, again just missing out to Kuwait. ASPIRE’s squash coach, Dan Jensen, who attended the Championships in Kuwait to see the players’ performances, said; “It was excellent to see the improved performances of the ASPIRE players at the Championships in Kuwait. Abdulla and Ahmad Al-Tamimi winning the Under 15 and Under 19 events respectively was a great achievement. Representing Qatar’s national team, the ASPIRE players have shown they are now highly competitive as a team in the GCC.” Endorsing Dan Jensen’s comments, ASPIRE’s Director of Sport, Wayde Clews, added; “The performances reflect the key factors of achieving success; athletic talent, hard work experienced, knowledgeable and committed coaching, all delivered within an environment of excellence and comprehensive support. It also reflects the positive relationship between the Qatar Squash Federation and ASPIRE – working together to achieve the best for our athletes. A heartfelt congratulations to Geoff, Dan and our squash players for the outstanding performances.”