The VIP Padel Qatar tournament (Ladies League) concluded successfully on Saturday with as many as 72 players participating in the three-day tournament in 36 teams.
At the end of the tournament that was hosted at the Padel Courts at Marsa Malaz Kempinski, it was the team of Cristina Mecho and Olga Munoz who won the Gold group, while Encar Lillo and Ana Sainz were second. In the Silver group, Leah Hulatt and Tanya Von Berg won the top spot while the Qatari team of Reem al-Sharshani and Bashayer al-Nayef finished second. The tournament saw Qatari participation exceed 50 percent.
The VIP Padel Tournament, organised by Yasmian Events, is to support the female Padel community in Qatar and to help people stay active. It follows the Qatar National Vision 2030, and aims of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Speaking of the event, Yasmine Ghanem al-Sharshani, first Qatari female golfer and Director of Yasmian Events and VIP Padel Qatar Tournament, said, “It has been my love for sport, travel and international sporting events, that I got this idea of establishing a championship. While I was practising during the coronavirus pandemic time being socially distanced, I realised the many benefits of padel on physical and mental health. The sport is physical and at the same time suitable for Qatari women. Many of them are playing padel, so the idea has been to make it more competitive.”
Al-Sharshani, who has represented Qatar in many local and international golf tournaments, and holds a master’s degree in managing and organiszing Olympic events from Greece, thanked the sponsors — Ooredoo, Marsa Malaz Kempinski, Maserati, Sports Corner, The Pearl, Blue Salon — for their support.
The closing ceremony was attended by a large audience, keeping in mind the protocols of social distancing.
Al-Sharshani, in her speech, said that the huge participation had exceeded expectations and that will only support the Qatari community to encourage girls and women to play sports. She added that it is a golden age of the State of Qatar because it is witnessing support for Qatari girls in all the fields, especially sport.
Marsa Malaz Kempinski general manager Karim Tayach expressed joy in hosting a tournament to support and encourage Qatari and non-Qatari girls, and to provide all means of comfort, services and privacy at the Padel Courts.
Jawaher Alfardan, in her speech, spoke about the support of Alfardan Group for the tournament and thanked everyone who organised the event. She expressed happiness with the participation of the female players.
Ooredoo’s Director of CSR, Sponsorships and Media Strategy Moza al-Muhannadi, Sports Corner’s Head of Marketing Carine Nehme and Maserati Qatar’s General Manager Charlie Dagher and Ashraf Abu Issa expressed their happiness and willingness to support tournaments that encourage girls in the community, and work towards achieving Qatar National Vision 2030.