Muscat, Nov 20
Oman continued their impressive performance in the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games by winning a silver in athletics and three bronze medals in fencing in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
On Thursday, Oman fencers Ahmed Kaskas, Al Harith al Harthy, Said al Shuaibi and Ali al Busaidy achieved two bronze medals in the men's team foil and epee competitions.
The Oman men’s 4x100m relay team comprising Mohammed al Saadi, Rashid al Asmi, Mulham al Balushi and Ali al Balushi stunned the top sides by storming to the silver medal at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex on Wednesday. The Oman team came second in 39.21 seconds behind gold medallists Saudi Arabia (39.19). Nigeria claimed bronze with 39.51 seconds.
In the 200 metres sprint final, Oman’s Ali al Balushi clocked 20.85 seconds to finish fourth. 2024 African Championship 100m silver medallist Eseme Emmanuel Alobwede of Cameroon came first in 20.55 seconds, followed by Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Atafi (20.65) in second and Cameroon’s Itoungue Bongogne Emmanuel Claude finished third (20.84).
Oman now have eight medals which include a gold, two silver and five bronze medals to stay at 22nd in the medals table.
Türkiye remained in the top spot with 143 medals — 68 gold, 43 silver and 32 bronze. Uzbekistan are second with 86 medals — 26 gold, 31 silver and 29 bronze and Iran are third with 69 medals — 22 gold, 19 silver and 28 bronze.
Hosts Saudi Arabia leaped to fourth spot with 49 medals — 17 gold, 9 silver and 23 bronze.
INSPIRING SUPPORT
In fencing, Israa al Siyabi gifted the Sultanate of Oman a new bronze medal in the women’s individual foil competition.
Israa expressed her happiness at winning the bronze medal in a special statement, in which she said: "Praise be to God for this achievement, which I am very proud of. Winning third place in a championship of this magnitude is a great source of pride for me and for Oman. I dedicate this precious medal to my dear country on the occasion of the National Day celebrations, and to my family who were my first supporter in every step."
She added: "I extend my deepest gratitude and dedication to Her Highness The Honourable Lady Assayida Ahd Abdullah Hamed al Busaidi, Spouse of the Sultan of Oman in appreciation of her inspiring support for Omani women and the sports movement. I also dedicate this achievement to every Omani woman who believes in her ability to raise the name of the nation."
She concluded her statement by saying: "I thank my coach, my family, and everyone who stood by me and supported me until I reached this achievement. I will continue to work hard to raise the flag of Oman higher in the future."
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain entered the handball final after their victories over Qatar and the UAE in the semifinals.
Saudi beat UAE 29-15, while Bahrain edged Qatar 31-30.
In the women's competition, the Turkish and Kazakh teams advanced to the final, after the former defeated Uzbekistan 39-22, and the latter defeated Iran 29-26.
Saudi Paralympic athlete Ali al Nakhli won gold in the men's 100m Paralympic race. Algeria’s Sofiane Hamdi won the silver while Egypt’s Mostafa Fathallah claimed the bronze medal.
Morocco’s Anas Saai won the gold in the men's 1500m race, while Türkiye’s Mehmet Celik bagged the silver and Algeria's Anis Chout took the bronze medal.
Moroccan Rachid El Hamdi clinched the gold in the men's 400m race, UAE’s Emmanuel Bamidil took silver and Nigerian Gaffari Badmus won the bronze medal.
ARSHAD WIN GOLD IN JAVELIN
Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem claimed the gold in the men's javelin throw, with his compatriot Muhammad Yasir taking silver, while Nigerian Samuel Kori won the bronze.
In the women's 4x100m relay, the Nigerian team won the gold, followed by the Bahraini team in second and the Gambian team in third.
Türkiye’s Demet Parlak won the gold in the women's pole vault.
Bahrain’s Salwa Naser bagged the gold in the women's 400m race while compatriot Nellie Korir won the gold in the women's 800m final.
In the women's long jump, Egypt's Israa Owais won the gold, Burkina Faiza Abdou Kerem won the silver, and Togo's Faiza Abdou Kerem came in third.
Türkiye’s Cansu Sayin won the gold in the women's 100m hurdles.
The Tunisian and Turkish duo snatched the gold medals in the men's sabre and women's foil fencing events at Boulevard Riyadh City.
Tunisian Fares Ferjani won the gold in the men's sabre event, while Turkey's Furkan Yaman took the silver medal. Tunisian Ahmed Ferjani and Uzbekistan's Zakhriddin Kodirov each won a bronze medal.
Turkey's Alara Atamaka won the gold medal in the women's foil event, Kazakhstan's Sofia Aktaeva took silver, while Oman's Israa al Siyabi and Tunisia's Yasmine Soussi shared the two bronze medals.
Wrestlers from Iran, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, and Egypt shared the gold medals in the wrestling competition.
Egypt men's basketball team and Azerbaijan women's basketball team claimed gold medals after winning their respective finals.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
