Muscat, Jan 24 - Omani swimmers Issa al Adawi and Abdulrahman al Kulaibi are on a mission this year and it is the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. The duo have been selected by the Oman Swimming Association (OSA) to represent Oman at the quadrennial continental showpiece.
It is common knowledge that the Asian swimming spoils are more or less shared between the world-class Chinese, Korean and Japanese swimmers, so it will be a baptism with fire for the young and relatively inexperienced Omani lads.
However, the 19-year-old Issa is unfazed about the enormity of the task at hand, although he is aware of the mountain he has to climb.
“First of all, it is rewarding to know that I am representing Oman at the Asian Games. It will definitely be a big challenge for us, no doubt. We have to make sure that we prepare well and acclimatise to the conditions in Indonesia and also get our bodies ready in time,’’ he added.
Issa, who studied at the Sultan School in Muscat, started swimming seriously at the age of 12 at the InterContinental Hotel, where he was trained by a Sri Lankan coach.
It was in Kuwait in 2012 where the freestyle specialist competed in his first competition in the 50 metres breaststroke and 100 metres breaststroke. Issa won a gold in the 50M breaststroke.
Since then, Issa participated in various GCC competitions and Asian-level meets but had the huge opportunity to represent Oman at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
“The first experience of the Asian Games was an eye-opener for me. The Chinese and Korean swimmers are at a world level and it was inspiring me to set new benchmarks and reach their level,’’ Issa made a candid revelation.
It is hard to think of a swimmer who does not idolise and look up to the greatest of them all: Michael Phelps. So it is, for Issa.
“Michael Phelps is my biggest motivation. I also look upto Australian great Ian Thorpe,’’ Issa added.
Issa is focused on the Asian Games for now and his target is to reach the final and improve his timing.
“The most important goal for me is to represent Oman in the right spirit and reach the final and compete hard. I also want to better my timing,” he added.
Issa has a best timing of 1 minute 56 seconds in 200 metres freestyle.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just two years away, Issa feels he has the time to get in shape and be at his best when it comes along.
“I’m very confident about qualifying for the Olympics. It is still two years away and I feel I will be at my best at that time,’’ Issa said.
In fact, what has come as a big boon for Issa in the context of the Olympics is his admission into a Japanese university. This will ensure that he gets to swim and train with Japanese swimmers in the run-up to the Olympics.
Issa was quite open about the training sessions that he and Abdulrahman have under Oman’s national swimming coach Kamal Khoumeri.
“We have six practice sessions in a week, two sessions a day. Each session will be of two and a half hour duration. We basically swim five hours in a day,’’ he stated.
COACH HAS REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Oman swimming coach Kamal Khoumeri has realistic expectations from his swimmers at the 2018 Asian Games.
“See, Asian swimming is now at the world level. My aim is to prepare the swimmers for the Olympics. We are not hoping for a medal since it will be extremely difficult with Chinese, Japanese and Korean swimmers in the fray,’’ he added.
Khoumeri stated his target for the swimmers will be to break the Omani record and qualify for the Olympics based on time and not wild card entry.
“Our main aim will be break the Omani record and as far as the Olympics is concerned we want to qualify for the first time based on timing and not on the wild card,’’ he added.
The coach had some good things to say about Issa.
“Issa is a very good swimmer. He will be a better swimmer after the Asian Games. Issa’s target will be to be among the top-30 swimmers in the world by 2024,’’ he said, adding he knows Issa has the ability to reach the target.
Khoumeri felt Abdulrahman also has the same potential as Issa and he will be very motivated for the Asian Games.
The coach also said that he is trying to organise some foreign camps for the swimmers to fine tune their skills.
“We are trying to get some camps abroad for the swimmers before the Asian Games, maybe in France, let’s see,’’ he added.
Coach Khoumeri is originally from Algeria but holds dual Algerian and French citizenship, being married to a Frenchwoman.
The coach has been at the helm of affairs for Oman since the last six years and before that was in charge of the Algerian swimming team for 16 years.
“With Oman it has been a wonderful experience. We have won some gold medals in the GCC meets and in other Open water swimming meets.’’
“When I was coaching Algeria, I had some top Olympian swimmers like Nabil Kebbab and Sofiane Daid under my wings, it was a great experience,’’ Khoumeri revealed.
ABDULRAHMAN MOTIVATED
Abdulrahman said the Asian Games will be a tough, hardening experience but they will learn from it.
“We will mainly try to break the Omani record. It will be difficult to reach the final but we will try our best,’’ he added.
“If we prepare really well for the next six months, it is possible to do something, let us see how things pan,’’ said the 20-year-old Abdulrahman.
Coach Khoumeri’s parting shot before concluding the interview was telling.
“We want these swimmers to become the first Omani swimmers to qualify for the Olympics based on their timing and not on a wildcard,’’ Khoumeri stated.
The coach was resolute in his dream of seeing the swimmers qualify for the Olympics as deserving and merit-based swimmers.
The future of Oman swimming is definitely in safe and strong hands with the likes of Issa, Abdulrahman and Khoumeri part of the team.
Haridev Pushparaj
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