Tuesday 07 / January / 2025
Muscat: It was a day to remember as well as forget for Oman sports at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday.
While there was joy of an Omani athlete qualifying for the final and raising hopes of a medal with Husain Al Farsi in the 800m event, there was utter disappointment after the 4x100m relay quartet was disqualified on Monday and the national hockey team suffered biggest defeat ever at the Asian Games.
Al Farsi brought early cheers on Monday as he set his personal best and his season’s best time in the 800m round one heat 2, clocking 1m:47.68s, to finish third and book a spot in Tuesday’s final as the best eight runners.
India’s Mohammed Afsal topped the heat 2 with a time of 1:46.79 while Kuwait’s Ebrahim Alzofairi was second with a time of 1:47.01.
The 20-year-old Al Farsi’s previous best was 1:49.20 and he shaved off nearly two seconds with a tactical display. Following the conclusion of the three heats in which 21 athletes competed, Al Farsi finished overall third going into the final, raising hopes of a podium finish for the Sultanate.
Afsal and Alzofairi emerged as the top-two fastest qualifiers with Thailand’s Joshua Atkinson fourth fastest with a time of 1:48.18.
In the final start list, Al Farsi is ranked third lowest at 417 with India’s Krishan Kumar ranked the highest among the eight with a world rank of 63 and the personal best of 1:45.88.
Quartet disqualified
Oman’s 4x100m relay team was expected to make it to the final after their recent showing but a technical glitch during round one heat 1 saw them disqualified.
The quartet of Rashid Al Aasmi, Barakat Al Harthi, Mohammed Obaid Al Sadi and Ali Anwar Al Balushi, who had a best time of 39.17s, were not the only one in their heat to be disqualified as the Hong Kong team too was disqualified.
On Tuesday, besides Al Farsi, another Omani athlete will be in action with Salem Al Yaarubi competing in the triple jump final.
There was no heat in the event with all the 13 jumpers in fray for the medal. Al Yaarubi’s best leap is 16.42m, which is the eighth best among the 13 competitors.
Biggest ever defeat for Oman hockey at Games
In the final Pool B game of the hockey event, South Korea toyed with Oman to register a 16-2 win at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium on Monday.
This was the biggest defeat Oman suffered in their Asian Games hockey history since they made their debut at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.
The previous biggest defeat was at the 2010 Asian Games when Japan thrashed Oman 13-1. Oman did suffer heavy defeats at the hands of heavyweights India, Pakistan and Malaysia over the years but Monday’s scoreline beat all.
In the ongoing tournament, Oman had earlier suffered a 11-1 drubbing at the hands of Malaysia on September 26.
Since 1982, Oman have participated in eight Asian Games hockey events. South Korea’s 16-2 win over Siegfried Aikman’s men showcased the gulf of class between the two teams.
The hero of South Korea’s colossal win was Jang Jonghyun, who struck five goals. Right from the outset, the South Koreans, coached by Shin Seok Kyo, went all out as they needed a big scoreline to ensure their entry into semi-finals. Within the initial minutes of the game, South Korea’s Jung Manjae opened the scorecard with a well-taken penalty corner. The lead was soon doubled by Jonghyun, who delivered a penalty corner, paving the way for a spree of goals. The first quarter concluded with South Korea already in a strong 2-0 lead.
The second quarter continued in a similar vein with South Korea showing no mercy. With a barrage of field goals and penalty corners converted successfully, the South Korean team looked unstoppable. Goals came from Lee Jungjun, Park Cheoleon, and Hwang Taeil, leaving Oman in a desperate situation at halftime with a 7-0 score.
Despite the significant lead, South Korea showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter. Jonghyun, the maestro of penalty corners, struck again alongside Jung Manjae who bagged two more field goals. The relentless South Korean attack was briefly interrupted by a valiant field goal from Oman’s Khalid Al Shaaibi, however, the celebration was short-lived as the rivals finished the quarter leading 12-1.
In the fourth and final quarter, despite a goal from Oman’s Fahad Al Lawati, South Korea powered through with goals from Yang Jihun, Jonghyun, Lee Nam Yong, and others to end 16-2.
Following the defeat, Oman ended Pool B at fourth spot with two wins from five games (six points) to qualify for the seventh place classification game against Bangladesh on Friday.
Prior to Friday’s hockey action, which will conclude Oman’s participation at the Asian Games, Oman’s weightlifter Amur Al Khanjari will compete in the 81kg Group A event on Wednesday.
