12-04-2025
Oman secures top spot in GCC Beach Games
MUSCAT, APRIL 12
Oman athletes presented top show from the recently concluded GCC Beach Games (Muscat 2025) on Friday night in Muscat beaches after securing 45 medals and ending in the top spot of the overall order. Oman's medal tally ended with an impressive 45 medals including 20 gold, 18 silver, and 7 bronze. United Arab Emirates ended the games as runners up with 22 medals (8 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze) and it is followed by Saudi Arabia in third place with 18 medals (4 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze). Bahrain came fourth with 17 medals (4 gold, 4 silver, and 9 bronze) while Qatar ranked fifth with 7 medals (3 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze). Kuwait came sixth with 8 medals (2 silver and 6 bronze). The tournament ran for seven days and featured participation of all the six GCC countries.
On the final day of the tournament, Oman national beach soccer team was crowned champion for the third consecutive time after a resounding 7-2 victory over their Saudi Arabia counterparts in the match held on Friday night. The UAE team came in second place, while the Saudi team finished third in the overall tournament standings. The closing ceremony of the tournament was held under the auspices of Azzan bin Qasim al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Tourism, and attended by Basil bin Ahmed al Rawas, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Sports and Youth. During the ceremony, the winning teams were honoured. The tournament flag was also lowered and handed over to Abdullah Hassan Hashem, head of the Qatari delegation participating in this edition.
UAE secures second place with commanding 5-1 win over Kuwait. Saudi Arabia settled for third place and the bronze medal with 6 points.
Oman's beach handball team also secured the gold medal after defeating Saudi Arabia 2–0 in the final match. Bahrain took the silver medal while UAE claimed the bronze. In beach volleyball, Oman's team (2), composed of pair Mazin al Hashmi and Hood al Jalbobi, earned the silver medal after losing in the final to Qatar's team (1) in straight sets. Oman's team (1) finished fourth after a loss to Bahrain's team (2) who took third place in the third and fourth playoff.
Oman's Swimmer impress
Oman's open water swimmers delivered a successful campaign as they won the gold medal in the 5-kilometre race with Saudi Arabia taking second and Bahrain third. In the singles 5-kilometre race, Oman's swimmer Ayman al Qasmi won silver while his teammate Nidhal al Harrasi claimed bronze and Saudi Arabia swimmer Mohammed al Zaki took gold.
Oman had earlier won gold in the team 10-kilometre race and followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In the singles 10-kilometre event, Ayman al Qasmi again won silver and Nidal al Harrasi secured bronze while Mohammed al Zaki won gold.
Top show by Athletics team
Oman's athletes concluded the tournament strongly on the track as they bagged five more medals on the concluding day of competition. Shaikha al Hinai delivered an outstanding performance to win gold in the women's triple jump, while her teammate Alaa al Zadjali secured silver. The bronze went to UAE's Abeer al Balushi. The men's 4x60 metre relay team worked hard as one team to clam gold with a strong and synchronised performance ahead of the UAE and Saudi Arabia teams. It was the same scenario by the women team in the women's 4x60 metre relay as Oman dominated once again by securing gold, with the UAE in second and Bahrain third. In the women's high jump, Alia al Mughairi of Oman delivered an exceptional performance to claim gold, followed by the UAE's Alia al Hammadi and Saudi Arabia's Raghad Bouareesh.
On the second day of athletics, Oman added five more medals as Mazoon al Alawi grabbed gold in the women's long jump while her teammate Alaa al Zadjali took silver and Saudi's Maryam al Mutairi claimed bronze. In the mile race, Bahrain's Abdulghani Mohammed took first place, followed by Oman's Mohammed al Suleimani in second and Bahrain's John Kipet in third. In the men's high jump, Oman's jumper Salim al Rawahi won gold, and Salim al Yaarubi took silver, while Saudi Arabia's Yahya Majal secured bronze. In the women's mile race, Bahrain's Marta Herbato won gold, her compatriot Bontio Idaw took silver and the UAE's Ruqayya al Marzooqi came third.
On the opening day of athletics, Oman's athletes commenced their campaign strongly by winning six medals as Mulham al Balushi won gold in the men's 60-metre sprint followed by his teammate Rashid al Asmi in second and Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Abdullah in third. In the women's 60-metre sprint, Bahrain's Layla Esbezar won gold, while Mazoon al Alawi took silver for Oman and Bahrain's Zainab Mohammed finished third. In the men's high jump, Oman's Fatak Bait Jaboob took gold, Qatar's Hamad Ali finished second and Kuwait's Khalid al Masaad came third. In the men's long jump, Oman's Salem al Yarubi won gold, his teammate Salim al Rawahi earned silver and Kuwait's Mohammed Ahmed took bronze.
Sailing claim medals
In sailing various events, Oman young sailors dominated with seven medals. In the Optimist general category, Khamis al Shammakhi won silver and teammate Tarteel al Husaini claimed bronze while UAE's Khalifa al Rumaithi won gold. In the girls' Optimist category, Tarteel al Husaini worked hard to claim won gold, Bahrain's Malak al Dosari took silver, and UAE's Madiya al Neyadi claimed bronze. In the Optimist juniors' race, Mohammed al Qasmi won silver, behind UAE's Zayed al Hosaini who took gold, and Qatar's Tamim Khalid took bronze. In the ILCA 4 girls' event, UAE's Marwa al Hammadi took gold, her teammate Al Yazi al Hammadi silver, and Bahrain's Amina Al-Sadiq bronze. In the ILCA 4 boys' race, Oman's Abdul Latif al Qasmi won gold followed by UAE's Mohammed al Marzooqi and Bahrain's Khalifa al Dosari. In the ILCA 6 girls' event, UAE's Dohaa al Bashar won gold, Kuwait's Amina Abdullah took silver and UAE's Kamilia Khalifa won bronze. In the ILCA 6 boys' event, UAE's Othman al Hammadi took gold, Bahrain's Dawood Abdullah came second, and Oman's Mutasim al Farsi claimed bronze. In the ILCA 7 boys' category, Oman's Hassan al Jabri won gold, followed by UAE's Adil al Baskiti and Bahrain's Ahmed Sadiq. On the first day, Oman won silver in the team Optimist event, while the UAE took gold and Kuwait bronze. Bahrain and Qatar placed fourth and fifth respectively.
Oman's tent pegging team also excelled by winning two medals on the concluding day. In the singles lance, lemon, and relay events, Aahed al Balushi took silver, while Qatar's Rashid al Dosari won gold and Ali al Adhbah took bronze. In the team event, Oman won gold with riders Hamad al Riyami, Hamed al Raisi, Aahed al Balushi, Safwan al Maamari, and Mohammed al Siyabi. Saudi Arabia came second and Qatar third.
On the second day of tent pegging, Hamed al Raisi won gold in the singles sword event, Kuwait's Abdullah al Dehani took silver, and Saudi's Hassan al Asiri won bronze. In the team sword event, Bahrain won gold, Saudi Arabia took silver and Kuwait bronze. On the first day, Oman's Hamed al Riyami won bronze in the singles category, with Qatar's Ali al Adhbah and Saudi's Hassan al Asiri claiming gold and silver respectively. Oman also secured silver in the team event, behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of the UAE. Oman's powered paragliding team won gold in the team event.
