Oman athletes return to heroes' welcome after two medals at Asian Games

MUSCAT: The Oman athletics team was given a heroes' welcome on Thursday when the athletes returned home after a two-medal performance at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
In a historic outing at the Games, the Sultanate Oman’s athletes Ali al Balushi and Mulhim al Balushi claimed a sensational silver-bronze medal finish in the blue riband event of men’s 100 metres.
It was the first ever occasion of Oman taking the silver and bronze together in an event at the Asian Games.
Basil bin Ahmed al Rawas, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Sports and Youth, received the athletes at the VIP Lounge of Muscat International Airport.
The silver and bronze by the Omani sprint pair were also the first medals for the Sultanate of Oman in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Ali al Balushi clocked 10.04 seconds and Mulhim al Balushi (10.11) made their dream finish at the Paloma Mizuho Sports Park in Nagoya to put Oman in the medals tally. The timings were the personal best performances for the Omani sprinters.
'I had trained for a long time for this moment. The silver was the result of of years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment,' Ali said after winning the medal, adding that it was an important milestone rather than the end of his ambitions.
Ali al Balushi finished fourth in 200m final clocking 20.72 seconds, in another impressive outing.
After the two medals in 100m, the Sultanate of Oman’s medal record at the Asian Games reached eight with one gold, two silver and five bronze.

ALIA CLEARS NEW MARK IN HIGH JUMP
Another achievement for the squad was Alia al Mughairi becoming the first Arab woman to compete in the women’s high jump at the Asian Games.
Competing in the final, Alia set a new national record of 1.75 metres by improving her own mark of 1.74 m. Ahead of the Asian Games, Al Mughairi had cleared 1.73m to win the gold at Oman Athletics Grand Prix in Muscat.
Alia, a gymnast-turned highjumper, had also claimed the gold in the fourth GCC Games Doha 2026 in May.
Ali al Balushi had joined the athlete preparation centres in 2010 and is classified in Category (A) of the programme. He has been part of the promising athletes project since 2021.
He also achieved fourth place globally at the World Athletics U20 Championship in Nairobi in 2021, and won gold at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in 2024 in the 60m race, clocking 6.50 seconds.
Mulhim al Balushi joined the promising athletes project in 2026. Mulhim had won gold medals in 100m sprint at GCC Games 2026 and the 2024 West Asian Athletics Championship held in Iraq. The youngster had also bagged a bronze in 100m at the 24th Arab Athletics Championship held in Algeria in 2025.
Mulhim had described winning the bronze as “the greatest moment” of his sporting career, saying that years of training, work, sacrifice and commitment had led to the achievement. He also dedicated the success to the Omani people and fans, saying the celebrations felt like a dream.