More Omani athletes to join Olympic Games squad

Muscat: Four more Omani athletes will join the country’s contingent at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with veteran shooter Hamed Al Khatri being the first to arrive, on Monday.

Oman’s team at the Olympics will reach its full complement, when sprinters Barakat Al Harthy and Mazoon Al Alawi, and weightlifter Amer Al Khanjari arrive on Wednesday at the Olympic Village.

An intensive training programme will be arranged for Al Khatri at Asaka Shooting Range, ahead of his participation in the 50 metre rifle three positions men’s qualifier on 2 August.

The preparatory programme for Al Khatri will last for six days under the full technical supervision of experienced national head coach, Sultan Al Rushaidi, who will travel to Japan along with administrative member Suleiman Al Hinai.

The shooting sessions will help Al Harthy acclimatise to the conditions in Tokyo, which were made possible because of the national shooting team’s efforts to obtain a special permit from the organisers, enabling him to organise training sessions ahead of the official competition.

The experienced Omani shooter hopes that his previous Olympics experience will enable him to register new records, and raise the Sultanate’s flag in this top showpiece event. He had previously made his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

Part of the Omani Olympic contingent is swimmer Issa Al Adawi, who was his country’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and currently trains at Chukyo University in Japan under the tutelage of Japanese coach Kusanagi Kenta.

Ahead of his event on Tuesday, he received plenty of encouragement from his instructors and teammates.

“Reaching the Olympics requires hard work from any athlete,” said Mohammed Al Sahli, technical expert at the Oman Swimming Association (OSA).

“Daily training sessions, learning from one’s mistakes, continuous development on personal and technical levels, and registering new records act as a support structure to help athletes qualify in the top swimming events, play a big role in their accomplishments for the nation.”