Muscat: The Oman national esports team began its Rocket League campaign at the third Asian Youth Games in Bahrain with a well-deserved 2–0 victory over Indonesia in its opening match, before falling 2-1 to Jordan in the second encounter. It was a mixed start that provided valuable lessons and fuelled ambition ahead of the remaining group stage fixtures.
In swimming, Mohammed al Farsi concluded his participation without winning a medal, despite finishing second place in the 100m backstroke heats in Group 1 with a time of 1:06.54. The result was not enough to secure a place in the finals amid strong competition from East Asian swimmers, as China’s Ji Shiji topped the heat with a time of 57.31 seconds.
The third edition of the Games, held from October 22 to 31, brings together over 5,000 athletes from 45 Asian National Olympic Committees, competing in 24 sports, 31 categories, and 253 events, hosted at major sports venues including: Isa Sports City, Khalifa Sports City, Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre, Endurance Village and Sama Bay Zone.
STRONG START IN 'ROCKET LEAGUE'
The Oman esports team delivered an impressive performance in its debut, showing great cohesion, focus and control from the outset thanks to solid team tactics and swift transitions between offence and defence. The opening win significantly boosted the players’ morale and gave the team strong momentum early in the tournament.
Despite the narrow loss in the second match against Jordan, who led by one goal at half-time, Oman’s efforts to overturn the result and equalise fell short, ending the match in an undeserved 2-1 loss.
The team heads into the remaining group stage matches with strong hopes of securing a qualifying spot. Oman are scheduled to face Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain in what promises to be a challenging route to the knockout phase.
Twenty Asian teams are competing in the Rocket League event. Oman are represented by three players born in 2008: Sultan bin Kamran al Balushi, Mishari bin Ammar al Ajmi and Abdullah bin Badr al Amri. The delegation is headed by Hamad bin Yaqub al Jahwari (team manager) and Abdullah bin Nasser al Atiqi (coach).
Matches are played in a 3 vs 3 format. In the event of a tie, an additional overtime round determines the winner.
Group stage matches follow a single round-robin format, where the winner earns 1 point and the loser earns 0 point. The top three teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which is played in a single-elimination format, requiring strong control, tactics and teamwork.
GOOD SHOW IN SWIMMING
The swimming heats witnessed fierce competition among top swimmers from across the continent, particularly from East Asia. Al Farsi competed in the 100m backstroke heats and delivered a good performance, placing second in his group, but his time was not enough to reach the final. He also exited the heats in the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke events.
After his final race, Al Farsi said: "It was an important and enriching experience for me. Although I was not able to reach the finals, I gained valuable experience and competed with some of the best swimmers in Asia, especially from the East. This participation will motivate me to work harder in the coming period to improve my performance and timing."
He expressed his gratitude to the Oman Olympic Committee, the Oman Swimming Association, and the technical and administrative teams for their support.
TECHNICAL COMMITTEES
Oman is also represented on the technical and organisational side of the Games, with Mal Allah al Busaidy, a member of the Asian Aquatics Technical Committee, participating as part of the tournament’s technical committee.
Al Busaidy explained that the committee plays a vital role in ensuring aquatics competitions run to the highest standards through preparing technical regulations, setting participation criteria, supervising referees, reviewing technical performance, and coordinating with the organising body to ensure the readiness of sporting facilities, equipment and technologies.
Photography – Nawaf Al Busaidi
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