Oman’s delegation will take part in the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Saturday after a year’s delay because of Covid. As many as 12,000 athletes are taking part in the biggest Asian Games which will run for 15 days and until October 8.
Basil Ahmed al Rawas, Undersecretary of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Sports and Youth, Oman’s ambassador in China, Nasser Mohamed al Busaidi and Taha al Kishry, Oman’s head of delegation in Asian Games, will represent Oman in the official opening ceremony. Oman’s hockey team captain Sami Awadh and national shooter Ibrahim al Maqbali will be the flag bearers of Oman during the march past at the opening ceremony.
Both Oman beach volleyball teams ‘A’ and ‘B’ progressed to the last 16 round successfully after they managed to earn one of the direct slots to the next level of the tournament. Oman’s team ‘A’ duo of Ahmed al Hosni and Haitham al Shuraiqi won against East Timor 2-0. The first set ended with a gap of 10 points as Oman spikers finished the set by 21-11. They dominated in the following set too as they beat the opponents and confirmed the triumph by 21-13.
Oman ‘A’ pair commenced their campaign in Asian Games strongly with a 2-0 victory over South Korea. The Oman team won the first set at 21-8 while the following set ended at 21-10. In their second match, Oman ‘A’ lost to Kazakhstan ‘A’ 2-1. Kazakhstan won the first set 21-16. The Oman spikers bounced back strongly in the following set to win it at 21-15. In the deciding set, the Kazakh pair managed to benefit from Oman team's mistakes to convert into points and finish the set with four points gap at 15-9. Oman ‘A’ were clubbed with Kazakhstan ‘A’, East Timor and South Korea ‘B’.
The Oman 'B' team featuring Nouh al Jalboobi and Mazin al Hashmi sealed berth to the knockout stage after their crucial victory over Tajikistan 2-0. The opening set was completed at 21-15 after a tight competition while Oman’s pair entered the second set chasing a triumph. They managed to confirm the victory by claiming the set 21-14.
The team suffered a 2-0 defeat against Iran ‘A’ team. Iranian pair ended the first set at 21-17 and they ensured their win in the second set by 21-11. Oman Team ‘B’ began their Asian Games campaign on Wednesday with a valuable win against Macau 2-0. The first half finished at 21-9 with 12 points lead while the deciding set finished at 21-17. Oman Team B were grouped with Iran ‘A’, Macau ‘B’ and Tajikistan.
Oman’s Mouh al Jalbobi expressed his joy after they booked a ticket to the next level of the tournament. “We are very glad that we could manage to qualify from the group stage after three tough games against Tajikistan, Iran and Macau. Our eyes are on the draw of the knockout stages and as a team we are ready to face the team in the last 16 round. We hope to move further in the competitions of the Asian Games,” he said.
Hockey team suffer defeat
Oman hockey team suffered a 3-0 loss against Japan in a friendly match ahead of their official participation in the Asian Games. The coaching staff of the team stand on the team’s readiness as they implemented different technical strategies during the match and did several substitutions throughout the warm-up match.
The national hockey team will meet China in the opening match of the hockey competitions on Sunday. In the following match, they will take on Malaysia before facing Thailand team in the third game on Thursday. Then, they will meet Indonesia on September 30 before concluding their matches against South Korea on October 2.
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