Doha: Qatari sailors, yesterday bagged two more medals for the hosts at the second GCC Beach Games, winning a gold and silver medal in different category races at the Katara Cultural Village.
It was yet another good day at the multi-sporting gala for the home athletes as both Qatar A and Qatar B also advanced into the semi-finals ot the basketball 3×3 competition.
However, Qatar’s Waleed Al Sharshani stole limelight on the penultimate day of the event by winning gold medal in laser standard class with Bahrain’s Abdulla and Ebrahim Al Dosari winning the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The hosts got their second medal when Faris Al Bakri clinched silver medal at the laser radial class. Dawood Al Sadiq of Bahrain won gold medal in the event while Saeed Al Zaidi of the UAE claimed the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Qatari outfits also excelled in basketball 3×3 competition, which kicked off at the Al Gharafa Club, yesterday.
Qatar B team dominated Pool A by winning two of their three group matches, beating UAE B (21-12) and Kuwait A (21-18) comfortably. They lost their only match against Bahrain (19-21).
In Pool B comprising five teams, Qatar A finished second to seal their place into the last four of the event. They won three matches out of the four matches with unbeaten UAE A leading the pool.
The semi-finals and the final of the event will be played today – the last day of the eight-day GCC Beach Games.
Commenting on the overall success of Team Qatar, Director of PR and Marketing at the Qatar Olympic Committee, Mohamed Al Fadala said:
“We are very pleased with the performance of all of our athletes, especially the handball and volleyball teams.”
He added: “To see such an outstanding performance in an intensely competitive tournament is testament to all the athletes. It is our sincere hope that all the children here today who have witnessed the live sporting action will leave with a newfound passion for sports.”
The Qatar handball team displayed fine show in the competition and won the gold medal by winning all their matches.
Apart from the finals of the basketball 3×3 event, open water swimming, stretching 10 kms will be competed today besides the final of the football event.
The GCC Beach Games, which began on April 3 gathered more than 300 athletes from the six GCC members; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE besides hosts Qatar.
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