Muscat: With the Sultanate’s teams and athletes gearing up for the challenge and the teams from other four participating nations starting to arrive in Muscat, the stage is set for 2015 GCC Women’s Games.

The fourth edition of the Gulf women’s premier multi-sport event, which lasts till March 18, will see more than thousand athletes, technical and administrative officials as well as dignitaries from all GCC nations, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, arriving in the capital city for what is been termed as the celebration of the region’s women’s sports.

The Games will be officially inaugurated by Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibani, the Minister of Education, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.

Games Organising Committee Chairman Rashad bin Ahmed Al Hiani revealed their readiness to host the Games.

“All preparations have been completed, everything is in place and we are ready host the GCC Women’s Games,” Rashad Al Hiani, who is also the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, said.

Oman Women’s Sports Committee Director Saada Salim Al Ismaili had earlier said they are aiming to host a memorable Games.

“All of us have been working hard. And we want to make the Games a grand success.”

“The GCC Women’s Games are a great opportunity for us to showcase our organisational abilities as well as the talent of our Omani sportswomen. And more importantly it is a great opportunity to bring all these women athletes together and also know more about each others cultures,” she added.

Oman’s prospects
The fourth edition of the Games has two new sports added to the list and that has enhanced the hosts’ prospects of winning more medals. The new sports included in the 10-descipline list are tennis and handball.

Oman, who won overall third place in the third edition held in Bahrain in 2013, are expected to win maximum number of medals in tennis with the Sultanate’s star Fatma Al Nabhani leading the way both in the singles and doubles as well as the team events.

The others sports include athletics, bowling, basketball, taekwondo, volleyball, shooting, endurance horse racing and athletics for physically challenged.

All the competitions, with the exception of bowling, shooting and equestrian (endurance) events, will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Bowling competitions will be held in Oman Bowling Centre in Al Khuwair, shooting at Ghala Shooting Range and equestrian events at Al Rahba Farm in Barka.

Teams ready
Meanwhile, the officials informed that all Omani teams and athletes are gearing up for the Games after undergoing training camps both in the Sultanate and abroad.

The handball team, coached by Tunisian Hamdi Sunossi, are aiming for the top honours after undergoing rigorous training sessions.

The team have been training since January when they started with a camp in Sohar.

They have now moved to Muscat and have also played a few practice matches with the governorate and schools teams.

Coach Hamdi has also roped in a few new players and is confident of team doing well at the Games.

The basketball team, under Omani coach Abubacker Al Jahwari, underwent external training camps during which the team played a few friendly games against a Bahrain club team and back home they played practice matches against Sri Lankan School team.

They begin their campaign against Kuwait on March 8 when Bahrain are scheduled to play the UAE in the other game.

On March 9, Qatar take on the UAE and Kuwait meet Bahrain. The following day, Oman play Bahrain and Qatar clash with Kuwait.

After a rest day, the competition resumes on March 12 with the UAE squaring off against Kuwait and Oman facing Qatar.

On March 13, Oman will play the UAE and Bahrain take on Qatar. Oman shooting team have been practising at Ghala Shooting Range on a regular basis and are ready for the competitions which run from March 9 to 11.

The team, who underwent a training camp in Iran recently, are confident of doing well at the Games.
The Omani athletics team are expected to win many medals during the competitions which run till the final day of the Games.

Omani athletes with the special needs are also expected to do well thanks to their performances at the various regional and international events in recent times.

According to team manager Ismail Al Kindi, the team have improved remarkably after participating in several tournaments in 2014. Their competitions, which will include discus throw, javelin throw and shot put, will run from March 10 to 12.

Making debut
The bowling team, being coached by Ismail Al Zadjali, underwent a 10-day camp during which the focus was on making overall improvements in aspects of the game.

The bowling competitions, which will include both individual and pairs events, will run from March 15 to 18.

The Sultanate’s equestrian team, meanwhile, will be making their debut at the Games.

The team and their horses, with the support from Royal Cavalry, have been shaping up well and are expected to do well in their competitions which will begin with mandatory medical checks of the horses at 9 a.m. on March 9.