The Peninsula
Ali Owaida clinched silver while Agham Hashem claimed bronze yesterday as Team Qatar raised their medal tally at the third GCC Games in Kuwait.
Owaida won silver in fencing after reaching the men’s foil individual final where he lost to Kuwait’s Ali Abas 15-12 at the Jaber Al Ahmad Youth Center.
After a receiving a bye, the Qatari fencer defeated compatriot Abdalla Khalifa 15-12 in the quarter-finals before prevailing over Kuwait’s Ali Nassar 15-13 in the semi-final.
Hashem won the bronze following the men’s individual kata event at Sheikh Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah Hall.
With two more medals yesterday, Qatar raised their overall medal tally to 48 including 14 gold, 20 silver and 14 bronze medals.
Kuwait retained their top spot with 31 gold, 23 silver and 30 bronze medals while Bahrain are second with 20 gold, 21 silver and 16 bronze medals.
UAE occupy third place with a total of 44 medals including 18 gold, 15 silver and 11 bronze medals. The Games will conclude tomorrow.
Inclusion of women’s sports in GCC Games a turning point, says Al Marri
Meanwhile, the head of the Qatari Women’s Sports Committee (QWSC) Lulwa Al Marri has hailed the inclusion of women’s sports at the ongoing Third GCC Games in Kuwait as an important turning point in women sports history.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Lulwa Al Marri said that the presence of women and their participation in major sporting events is a great addition and this will push for more progress in the sports field. It will motivate everyone to participate actively and push the wheel of sports progress forward.
She added that the main goal is to increase the percentage of women’s participation in sports, after it was limited to physical education classes in schools only.
Al Marri indicated that the Qatari Women’s Sports Committee supports the Olympic Schools Program in Qatar, the Be An Athlete Program, the State Sports Day, and programs for preparing coaches and referees, considering that increasing the base of women’s sports practice is the committee’s primary goal, noting the large numbers that have been achieved in the recent period.
Al Marri noted that the GCC Games in Kuwait are witnessing the participation of Qatari women in three disciplines, namely basketball, athletics, and cycling.
She pointed to the positive participations as Samar Al Mansouri won gold in pole vault while Saja Saadoun won bronze medal in 400m hurdles. Rania Al Naji won the silver medal in the hammer throw competition, and Layal Tamam and Saja Saadoun won silver and bronze respectively in heptathlon. Samar Al Mansouri also won bronze in the triple jump competition.