Dubai: The UAE's Faisal Bastaki and Rashed Bushaqer Al Falasi entered the boy's under-18 semifinals while young Fatma Abbas Al Janahi was just one match away from a gold medal in the girls under-14 at the Gulf Youth Under-14 and Under-18 Youth Tennis Cup being held in Bahrain.
Bastaki secured a 6-2, 6-1 win against Bahrain's Khalid Al Mosawi while Al Falasi fought over three sets before winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against fourth seed Mansour Buhamad of Kuwait. Al Falasi will now meet seventh seed Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi and the second seeded Bastaki will take on sixth seed Mohammad Al Shati from Kuwait.
Bastaki and Al Falasi also kept their sights on a medal in the doubles when they secured a position in the finals with a 6-1, 6-1 win against the Bahraini pairing of Yousuf Qaed and Abdul Rahman Al Janahi. The UAE duo will now take on the second-seeded pairing of Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi and Mohammad Al Shati to decide the doubles winners.
Fatma Abbas Al Janahi kept alive her hopes for a gold when she secured an easy 6-0, 6-0 win against Shouq Adel of Qatar in the girls under-14 competition. Al Janahi now has to play Qatar's Ola Basel and a win against this opponent will hand her the gold medal.
Meanwhile, the UAE challenge ended in the boy's under-14 competition when Abdullah Al Ahli and Rashid Bushaqer Al Falasi both lost in their quarter-finals.
Al Ahli lost in straight sets to top seed Nasser Al Obaidli 6-0, 6-1, while Al Falasi waged a grim battle before going down in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 against Saudi Arabia's Abdul Latif Al Rajeh, who will now run into second seed Abdul Hameed Al Shati of Kuwait.
Oman's Fatma Al Nabhani also looked certain of a gold when she recorded her second straight win in the girls under-18 competition.
