MUSCAT: Oman’s athletes will aim for clinching colourful medals in their crucial participation at the Arabian Sports Games which will be held in Algeria during July 5 to 15. The official delegation arrived recently to Algeria city by beside the football team while the other sporting teams including athletics, sailing, Weightlifting and Para-Athletics will travel according to their dates of the competition. Oman’s chances are high to get some medals in all the above five competitions despite the expected tough competition.
Oman Olympic football team will commence the Sultanate of Oman’s participation in the Arabian event as they will take on the hosts Algeria in the opener for group A matches. The match will start at 12:00 am (Monday – Oman time) at the 19th May in Annaba city. Football and some other sports competitions will start ahead of official opening of the event. Oman team, lead by the national head coach, Akram Habreesh, will aim for a winning Start which will encourage the team to show their better in the upcoming games. Oman will meet Lebanon in the following fixture on Wednesday before concluding their group matches against Sudan on Saturday.
The athletics competition will take place during July 4 to 7. Oman’s athletes are in good shape to vie on bagging the desired medals as they went to an intensive abroad camp in Türkiye and Morocco. Recently, Oman’s athletes claimed five different medals in the Arabian Athletics Championship in Marrakesh, Morocco including three gold, one silver and one bronze. Oman finished fifth place in the overall medal tally. The national athletes delivered an impressive show in the Arabian meet on Saturday as they raised the tally of the medals from two to five. Oman sprinter Mohammed al Saadi managed to clinch the silver medal in the men’s 200 meter race as he clocked 20.62 seconds. Oman’s top long jumper Salim bin Saleh al Yarubi bagged two gold medals in long jump competition and in the triple jump competitions. Oman’s 4X400 meter relay team comprising Mohammed al Mabsali, Othman al Busaidi, Hamza al Jabi and Ahmed al Saadi emerged with the bronze medal after finishing the race within a timing of 3.14.25 minutes. The first Omani medal registered in the Arabian meet was by Oman’s Fatik Abdulghafoor who claimed the medal in high jump competition as he registered a jump with a mark of 2.15 meters.
Eng Ibrahim al Mahdawi, Chairman of Oman Volleyball Association (OVA) and OOC board member will preside over Oman’s delegation in this event, while Ahmed al Jahdhami will be the chief de mission. Badar Awlad Thani will be the assistant chief de mission, while Moosa al Hinai as administrative members, Fahad al Zuhaimi will the media in charge and Ahmed al Farsi as the delegation photographer.
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