Oman claim six medals in athletics

DUBAI: Omani athletics teams won six medals with general athletes and para athletes contributing three each on the fourth day of the first edition of GCC Youth Games in Dubai on Friday. The event is being hosted by the UAE in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman from April 16 to May 2 with the participation of about 3,500 male and female athletes from all GCC countries competing in 24 individual and team games.

Oman are taking part with around 200 players in 16 games including the para athletics events. After the fourth day, Oman's total medals tally reached 23. Omani para athlete Faisal al Balushi snatched gold medal in the long jump competition to end his participation with three medals, two gold and a silver. Female Omani para athlete Maryam al Badi claimed another gold medal in long jump competition. In the afternoon competitions, Maryam added a bronze medal in the 200-metre race, to end her attendance in UAE with three medals, a gold, a silver and a bronze.

Abdullah al Anbari, Oman para athletic coach, expressed his joy with the medals. “We thank Allah for the great achievement as we promised. These medals are the first for Faisal al Balushi and Maryam al Badi, despite simple preparation due to short time and weather conditions.”

"We thank the Oman Olympic Committee for all efforts made in facilitating, overcoming the difficulties, and providing the Paralympic Committee with the opportunity to represent Oman in foreign forums,” he added.

SAMER TAKES WOMEN'S 100M GOLD

The general athletics competitions continued for the second day on Friday evening at the Dubai Police Officers Club Stadium, where Ghaya al Saadi participated in the shot put competitions and finished fourth. Kaltham al Jabri achieved a bronze medal in the hammer throw. Al Ayham al Fudaili grabbed a bronze medal in long jump. Samer al Yarubi clinched the women's 100 metres gold. Fawzi al Kiyoumi, an administrator in Oman Athletics Association, said it was a brilliant start by the Omani athletes.

“A wonderful start by the Omani athletes as we won three medals, despite most of the athletes participated for the first time abroad. The aim of this participation is to hone talents and benefit from the experience. The delay of the competition due to climatic conditions was considered, as we were unable to reach the stadiums and our training was limited,” he said.

Oman chess team opened its competitions on Thursday evening upon its arrival in the UAE. The competitions were held at the Sharjah Cultural Chess Club, where the tournament began with team competitions. In the under-18 men category, the Omani team lost to UAE team with a result of 1-2, and from Kuwait with a score of 2-5. In the U-14 category for men, Oman lost 3-0 to UAE, also lost Kuwait match with a score of 2-5. In the under-18 category for women, UAE defeated Oman 3-0, and lost 2-1 to Qatar. In the U-14 category for women, the national team lost to UAE with a score of 0-3.

The organising committee opened media centre at the Dubai Marriott Marquis Hotel, which was prepared to receive all media delegations accompanying the delegations of the GCC teams. The handball championship competitions will begin on Saturday in the hall of the Al Bataeh Cultural and Sports Club, with the participation of 6 GCC teams competing in a single-round league system. The opening day will witness 3 matches, as Saudi Arabia will meet Bahrain, Qatar will take on Kuwait and Oman will face UAE.

Handball competitions will be held over 7 days to conclude on Friday with 3 matches -- Bahrain will meet Oman, UAE against Kuwait and Saudi Arabia face Qatar. The matches are managed by six refereeing teams, including Uzbekistan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The youth table tennis draw will take place on Tuesday, while the competitions will be held from April 24 to 27, in the closed hall of the Shabab Al Ahli Club in Al Mamzar in Dubai.