Al Balushi finishes fourth in 200m final at Aichi Nagoya Asian Games

MUSCAT: Oman’s national teams continued their participation in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya, with sprinter Ali al Balushi finishing fourth in the men’s 200m final, while Oman’s beach volleyball ‘A’ team lost 2-0 to Qatar. Shooting also got underway for Oman, while sailing events were postponed due to weather conditions.
Al Balushi clocked 20.72 seconds in the 200m final at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Aichi, finishing behind Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who won gold in 19.88 seconds. China’s Yuo Wenhuang took silver in 20.45 seconds, while Japan’s Soshi Mizukubo claimed bronze.
The fourth-place finish came two days after Al Balushi won silver in the 100m, Oman’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the event. He qualified for the 200m final after finishing second in his semi-final in 20.42 seconds, the same time recorded by group winner Yuo. Al Balushi had clocked 21.41 seconds in the heats.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL TEAM FACES INDONESIA
Oman’s beach volleyball pair of Hood al Jalboobi and Mazin al Hashmi suffered a 2-0 defeat against Qatar’s Sherif Samba and Ahmed Janko at Hikenan Ryokuchi Beach Stadium.
Oman started strongly and briefly held a two-point lead, but Qatar recovered to win the first set 21-19. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Oman pushing hard before Qatar again prevailed 21-19.
Oman finished second in the group after defeating the Philippines in the opening round and will face Indonesia in the round of 16 at 11am Japan time on Sunday.

Al Jalboobi said the team had produced a strong performance against one of the world’s leading sides.
“We gave everything we had against Qatar, one of the strongest teams in the world, not only in Asia. We competed well and maintained a strong performance throughout,” he said.
Mazen Al Hashemi said the narrow margins reflected the competitive nature of the match. He added that Oman had previously beaten Qatar and believed the teams could meet again in the later stages.
Both players said the team’s level was improving from match to match and expressed their ambition to challenge for an Asian Games medal.
TAEKWONDO AND GOLF TEAMS ARRIVE
Taekwondo player Nibras al Touqi and coach Salim al Abri arrive on Sunday ahead of the men’s under-58 kg competition on October 2 and 3 at Toyohashi Sports Arena.
Al Touqi enters the Games after winning silver at the Indonesia Open in Jakarta in August.
Golf player Ahmed al Wahaibi and coach Jonathan Bartlett also arrive on Sunday. Al Wahaibi will compete from September 30 to October 3.
In shooting, Bati al Shibli began his campaign in the trap event, while Oman’s sailing competitions were postponed because of adverse weather.