Oman open GCC Games campaign with two bronze medals in taekwondo

MUSCAT: Oman made a promising start to their campaign at the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday with the national taekwondo team delivering the Sultanate’s first medals of the competition while the women’s 3x3 basketball side bowed out after a spirited fight.

Oman secured two bronze medals on the opening day of action through taekwondo athletes Nebras Al Touqi and Omaima Al Hinai as the multi-sport event continues until May 22 in the Qatari capital.

Nebras produced an impressive performance in the men’s 58kg category to clinch bronze, while Omaima added the second medal in the women’s 49kg division.

However, team-mate Omar Al Sinani exited the competition after losing his men’s 80kg bout to Kuwait’s Abdullah Batil.

In women’s 3x3 basketball, Oman’s campaign ended in the preliminary round following back-to-back defeats.

The team went down 15-10 to hosts Qatar despite a bright display from Shams Al Khonji, Fatima Al Numani, Rabi Al Kalbani and Reem Al Shirawi.

Oman then produced a much stronger showing against Kuwait, forcing the match into overtime after an 11-11 deadlock in regulation time, before narrowly losing 13-12.

In table tennis, Oman suffered a 3-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the team event on the opening day.

The swimming competition saw several Omani athletes in action, with Hamad Al Hasani finishing fifth in the men’s 800m freestyle. Meshal Al Kulaibi was placed seventh in the 50m freestyle in 24.84 seconds, while Mohammed Al Wahaibi clocked 25.11 seconds to finish ninth.

Al Wahaibi also took ninth place in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:09.89.

In bowling, Hassan Al Kharusi finished 23rd in the singles standings with 1,024 points from six games, while Juma Al Habsi ended 26th with 993 points in a field featuring 26 competitors from across the GCC nations.

Ambassador welcomes Omani delegation

Ammar bin Abdullah Al Busaidi, Oman’s Ambassador to Qatar, received the Omani delegation participating in the Gulf Games in the presence of Abdullah Bamkhalif, Secretary-General of the Oman Olympic Committee, and senior delegation officials.

The ambassador wished the athletes success and expressed confidence that the teams would produce performances reflecting the progress of Omani sport on the Gulf stage.

Saudi Arabia topped the medal standings after the opening day with four gold, three silver and one bronze medals.

Hosts Qatar were second with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals, while Bahrain occupied third place with two gold, three silver and one bronze.