Oman's new sprinting hope on the horizon

Ali al Balushi is not the most popular name in Oman’s sporting arena but that could change in the coming years. The 17-year-old sprinter is the emerging great new hope in Oman’s athletics scene which has long been dominated by the exploits of Barakat al Harthy. Pointers to Ali’s emergence and his raw talent was on full display at the recently concluded West Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Beirut, Lebanon. The Muscat lad clinched the 200 metres gold for Oman, his first, as the Sultanate athletics contingent reaped home six medals, two bronze, three silver and a gold, at the competition. In an exclusive interview with the Observer, Ali and his coach Fahad al Mashaikhi expressed their thoughts about the performance, where Ali won the gold in 21.97s. “I am happy but not so much. I was aiming to create a new record but the track condition was not good. The curve was not as perfect as it should be and that made it difficult,’’ Ali said. Ali is the fastest junior sprinter in Oman and holds the national youth record in both the 100 and 200 metres. Ali set the 100 metres record of 10.69s at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Hong Kong in March this year and set the same time at the Arabian Championship in Tunisia in July. Ali’s personal best and the 200 metres youth record of 21.36s was set at the Junior Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2018. Coach Fahad is all praise for his protege of three years and is expectant of a bright future for the sprinter. “Ali is very talented, just pure raw talent. He is looking after himself very well. He is committed, has the right lifestyle and trains hard. I feel he has a very good future,’’ the coach stated. A measure of Ali’s talent and promise could be gauged from coach Fahad’s ambitious plans. “I feel Ali has it in him to make it to the Olympics and maybe even create history by winning a medal. We are realistically looking at Paris Olympics in 2024 and have a long-term plan keeping that in mind,’’ a seemingly hopeful Fahad stated. Fahad also revealed that he had submitted a planning schedule expectation for Ali to the Sports Ministry. It was a plan for the next five years that will include the competitions, training programme and foreign exposure required by Ali. Meanwhile, no conversation around Oman athletics is complete without Barakat coming into the picture. Fahad’s most famous protege who holds Oman’s senior national 100 metres record of 9.97s is the benchmark for aspiring sprinters. “They are friends (Ali and Barakat) and I ask Barakat to come over and train with Ali sometimes. So, Ali learns a lot that way as well,’’ the coach revealed. Ali is currently undergoing a recovery programme after the West Asian championships. Fahad felt that Ali’s development could progressively get tougher but added that his protege has the smarts to succeed. “It is very difficult to prove yourself at the senior level. He has the potential but we have to see how it pans in the future,’’ coach Fahad said. However, Fahad was very optimistic and gung-ho about the future of Ali. “I am happy to get an athlete like Ali under me. Not everyone can work hard and train like the way he does. I feel we are growing together,’’ he stated. Fahad also gave the example of his former protege Ahmed al Marjabi, who was a 400-metre runner. “Ahmad trained under me and we went to the London Olympics in 2012 together and that was a very nice experience,’’ reminisced the coach. “With Ali, I hope to go to the Olympics and not just participate but hopefully bring back a medal as well, why not?!,’’ coach Fahad expressed hope and ambition as he signed off.