The Peninsula
Qatar finished their campaign at the third GCC Games on a high note, winning two gold medals and a silver medal on the final day of the regional multi-sport event that concluded in Kuwait, yesterday.
Fielding over 170 athletes in 15 disciplines at the six-nation event, Team Qatar signed off with a tally of 52 medals including 16 gold, 21 silver and 15 bronze medals.
Qatar handball team brought the curtain down to team’s campaign with a thrilling 29-28 victory over Bahrain in their last match of round-robin event, competed among five teams. Al Annabi finished on top after an unbeaten run, winning all their four matches.
However, yesterday’s match was the toughest challenge for Qatar as Bahrain produced a good fightback in the second period after trailing 16-13 in the first session.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s first gold medal of the day came when fencers Ali Owaida, Abdalla Khalifa and Khaled Hussein combined for men’s foil team title, beating hosts Kuwait 45-38 in the final. Qatar earlier defeated Bahrain 45-33 in the semi-finals.
The silver medal for Qatar on the final day came when the men’s team, comprising Mousa Shannan, Rashed Nawaf, Mubarak Shanan and Issa Shannan finished runners-up in the tennis competition.
Qatari athletes particularly the track and field stars and swimmers produced remarkable performances during the Games. Besides their handball gold, Qatar also excelled in team competitions including padel and volleyball.
The volleyball team’s performance was outstanding as it set a record, clinching the title without dropping a single game throughout the competition.
Samar Mansouri also etched her name in the history books becoming the first women for Qatar to win gold at the GCC Games after her victory in the women’s pole vault event on the opening day. It was the first time that women athletes participated in the Games.
Hosts Kuwait topped the medal table with 36 gold, 28 silver and 32 bronze medals followed by Bahrain, who won 20 gold, 23 silver and 21 bronze medals. UAE finished third with a haul of 50 medals including 18 gold, 16 silver and 16 bronze medals, while Saudi Arabia came fourth with 16 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze medals.
Oman finished on bottom behind Qatar with 12 gold, five silver and 16 bronze medals.