Qatar’s Racha Loghraibi poses with her trophy.
Doha: Qatar’s Racha Loghraibi clinched the U-11 girls’ title while young Al Annabi players delivered strong podium finishes as the WTT Youth Contender Table Tennis Championship Doha 2026 which concluded at the Lusail Arena yesterday.
Loghraibi defeated Egypt’s Zeina Farouk 3-2 in a high-quality final.
Loghraibi won the opening game 11-5, dropped the second 6-11, then regained the lead with an 11-6 third game. Farouk forced a decider by taking the fourth 11-9, but Laghribi closed the match 11-7 to secure the title.
“I am extremely happy to win the title after a strong and exciting final,” Loghraibi said. “This result came through continuous work and training. The competition was tough, but I stayed focused until the last point.”
Loghraibi also finished runner-up in the U-13 girls’ category after losing the final to Egypt’s Malak Zaki. Her teammate Alia Al-Baz claimed third place in the same category.
In the U-13 boys’ event, Rabia Al-Kuwari took third place after a semi-final loss to Uganda’s Joseph Sibatendara. Ahmed Al-Abdullah secured third place in the U-11 boys’ category, losing his semi-final to Sri Lanka’s Taavi Samarweera. Samarweera went on to win the title, defeating Saudi Arabia’s Rayan Al-Manjoumi in the final.
Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah added another podium finish for Qatar by placing third in the U-15 boys’ category, after a semi-final defeat to Malaysia’s Lee Yong Rin.
Elsewhere, the U-19 girls’ title went to India’s Syndrela Daz, who beat compatriot Divyanshi Bhowmick 3-1. Lee Yong Rin claimed the U-15 boys’ title with a 3-0 win over India’s Aditya Daze.
The awards were presented by Qatar Table Tennis Association President Hamad Ahmed Al Hammadi, alongside board members Mohammed Hassan Al Rumaihi and Abdullah Bader Al Sada.
The Youth Contender is the third event in the Qatar International Combined Series, which continues until the end of January with a total prize pool of $500,000. The series opened with the WTT Champions Doha 2026 from January 7 to 11, followed by the Star Contender from January 13 to 18.
The fourth tournament in the series, the Star Contender Youth tournament, will begin today, running until Sunday. The series will conclude with the WTT Feeder Doha 2026 from January 27 to 31.
