
'School Sports Days' launched in Muscat
The event will target students born in 2008 and later, in accordance with the age-specific criteria set by the organising committee for each sport. Also, the event has attracted a large turnout, with 414 students advancing to the finals. Each of the governorates of Muscat, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Buraimi, Al Dhahirah and Dhofar is represented by 42 participants. Al Batinah North Governorate is represented by 38, while Al Sharqiyah North and Musandam governorates each have 34 participants. Al Batinah South and Al Sharqiyah South governorates are represented by 33 each, and Al Wusta Governorate by 32 participants.
This nationwide initiative brings together over 400 male and female students, accompanied by 22 supervisors, under the technical direction of 109 coaches representing 11 educational directorates. Participants will compete in six sports disciplines: chess, athletics, badminton, bowling, cross-country, and table tennis.
The School Sports Days event aims to promote sports participation within the educational system and utilise sports as an effective tool to support educational goals. The event also serves to instil ethical values, spread Olympic sports culture among students, and raise awareness about the importance of physical activity. Moreover, it acts as a platform to discover and nurture emerging student talent, guiding outstanding athletes toward national sports federations and future national team representation.
The female competitions will take place on Sunday and Monday, featuring 253 students under the supervision of 55 coaches and supervisors. Female students will compete in athletics 86 participants, badminton 22 participants, table tennis 33 participants and bowling 20 participants.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Thompson out of sprint showdown with Lyles in Lausanne
LAUSANNE: Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson will not run in the 100 metres at the Lausanne Diamond League on Wednesday, with media reports citing shin discomfort as the reason for the Jamaican's absence. Thompson won the much-anticipated rematch with Noah Lyles at Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Silesia, after the American beat Thompson by five thousandths of a second at last year's Olympic final, but there will be no repeat showdown in Switzerland. Saturday's race was the pair's first meeting since the Paris final, with Lyles' season delayed by an ankle injury. Thompson came out on top in a time of 9.87 seconds, with the American posting his best time of the season, coming second in 9.90. Thompson is unlikely to run again before the world championships in Tokyo in September. He is currently the man to beat after clocking 9.75 at the Jamaican championships in June. Lyles will have another Jamaican rival to contend with in Lausanne, facing Oblique Seville who beat the American when Lyles made his first 100m appearance of the season at the London Diamond League meet in July. Another Jamaican, world champion Shericka Jackson, is also absent from the women's 200 metres starting list in Lausanne. Jackson posted a season's best time of 22.17 seconds in Silesia on Saturday to win the 200m. — Reuters


Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Oman Olympic team all set for Thailand camp
MUSCAT: The Oman Under-23 Olympic football team is undergoing their domestic preparations for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 qualifiers, with the squad set to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday for a seven-day training external camp. The camp, which is under the watchful eyes of experienced head coach Badar al Maimani and his technical staff, will aim to enhance the team's physical readiness and technical sharpness ahead of their crucial continental assignment. The upcoming external camp in Bangkok will provide the players with an intensive programme combining tactical sessions, fitness development, and competitive training matches to ensure full readiness before the qualifiers. Upon the conclusion of the Thailand camp, the team will head directly to Cambodia on August 28, where they will compete in Group F of the qualifiers. Oman will face three decisive matches in their quest to secure a spot at the finals of the Asian Cup, including the opening match against hosts Cambodia on September 3 while they will meet Iraq on September 6. They will conclude the matches against Pakistan on September 9. Only the group winners and the four best second-placed teams across all groups will progress to the finals in Saudi Arabia, joining the host nation. The qualifiers represent the culmination of months of preparation for the Olympic squad, which recently participated in the four-nation international friendly tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Oman finished as runners-up in that event, collecting four points from three matches, defeating Bahrain 1-0, drawing 1-1 with Kyrgyzstan, and falling 2-0 to eventual champions Syria. The Bishkek experience offered valuable international exposure and highlighted the team's strengths and areas of improvement as they approach the qualifiers. Also, the Olympic team ended as runners up in the local tournament, which ended in Salalah last month, after they suffered a loss against Al Nahda in the final match on penalties. The Thailand camp will be a key stage in Oman's preparation road map, giving the coaching staff the opportunity to further build team chemistry, refine tactical approaches, and assess player performance ahead of the high-stakes competition. With a balanced squad of promising young talents and experienced names, Oman will enter the qualifiers with ambition and determination to secure qualification to the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, a tournament that will act as a pathway to the Olympic Games.


Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
Sky's the limit for Duplantis ahead of 'super-sick' Tokyo worlds
CHORZOW, Poland: Record-breaking Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis has predicted a "super-sick" world championships in Tokyo, where he won his first Olympic medal in the Covid-delayed Summer Games, but insisted statistics were unimportant to him. The US-born Swede has been in electric form, setting a 13th world record, of 6.29 metres, in Budapest on Tuesday to further seal his claim as one of the best track and field athletes in history. But Duplantis shies away from the bravado often shown by sprinters, reiterating that he is not bothered by the numbers game. "I'm just making sure that all the little details and everything are very polished and that I'm really ready to go at the most important time," Duplantis said on Thursday ahead of the Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland. "It's a lot of recognition," he conceded of setting multiple world records. "It's always an amazing feeling and I'm always super grateful, and it feels kind of surreal in a way every time I've been able to push the record a little bit higher." A return to Tokyo's Olympic Stadium for the September 13-21 world champs, with a full crowd compared to the empty tribunes in 2021 because of the pandemic, left Duplantis "super excited". "I have super high expectations," he said. "It's going to super sick, honestly. "I think the atmosphere is going to be insane. Then it's just up to me to enjoy it and channel what everybody's giving me and try to put on a good show." But the 25-year-old, who has used the same pole to set the last 10 world records, again played down expectations of how high he thought the bar might be raised to. "I just love competing," he said. "It doesn't matter how many world records that I break. "When it comes to sports in general, you always have to prove yourself on the day because nobody just gives you anything, it's all earned. "They don't just give me the trophy because I'm the favourite. I still have to go out there and have to compete. I have to be on my A game, and I have to earn my title as the one that's going to be the best and last man standing on that day every time." Sweden's Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new pole vault world record at 6,29m during the men's pole vault event of the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix in Budapest, Hungary on August 12, 2025. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP) NO SPECIAL MAGIC NUMBER As for the 6.30m mark and beyond, Duplantis added: "I don't want to lie and make something up and act like there's some special magic number that I'm aiming for that's always in the back of my mind when it's really not the case, because I'm really not very super fixated on anything in particular. "I feel like I'm very much somebody that lives in the present moment and I try to maximise and achieve the most that I can in the now." That said, the Swede then fired out a warning, saying he knew he was going "to keep jumping higher, there's a lot more to come, and I'm going to keep pushing it". "I just try to jump as well as I can every day and I know that if I jump the way that I should jump then I should be the best guy on the track and I should be the guy that's the last man standing." Duplantis also said he had vastly improved, both physically and mentally, over recent years, allowing him an unprecedented consistency in competition. "I'm just better in every way," he said. "I'm more experienced. I have a better understanding... how to take care of myself and my body and what to do to remain in good shape, also just better performing and getting the most of myself on each given day. "There's going to be a day where I'm not going to jump very well, but that happens. Doesn't happen that often, though, and it probably won't happen two times in a row." — AFP