Asian Beach Games: Barakat Al Harthi leads Oman to relay silver

Sports Wednesday 28/September/2016 23:19 PM
By: Times News Service
Asian Beach Games: Barakat Al Harthi leads Oman to relay silver

Muscat: A day after winning Oman’s first medal -- that too gold -- star sprinter Barakat Al Harthi led the Sultanate squad to 4x60m relay silver at the ongoing fifth Asian Beach Games in Danang, Vietnam on Wednesday.
The Omani quartet, also comprising Yahya Al Noufali, Samir Al Riyami and Khalid Al Ghailani, clocked 26.19 seconds to take silver behind Thailand team who timed 26.19 secs. Vietnam took bronze in 26.93.
The Omanis though had to hold back their celebrations for a brief period as Yahya Al Noufali, in the processing of helping the team silver, suffered an injury and collapsed after the finishing the race.
After receiving the on field treatment, Yahya was then rushed to the hospital.
But to the relief of the Omani contingent, he was cleared of any serious injury and the celebrations continued in the Sultanate camp.
The relay silver is Oman’s second medal at the ongoing Games after 60m gold medal won by Barakat on Tuesday, when the Omani star sprinter ran perfect race to take top honours in a time of 6.44 seconds.
National Athletic team’s coach Hamood Al Dalhami said that the two medals the team has won were a good achievement for the team who are participating for the first time in the beach athletic competition.
“The team has succeeded in the competition and has acquainted with the system of the competitions one day ahead of the competitions,” he added while congratulating the team members for their great efforts.
Abdullah Al Jabri, a member of Oman delegation, said thanked the athletes for winning laurels for the country and also appreciated the efforts of the other athletes.
Handball team in semis
Meanwhile, the Omani handball team assured themselves of a place in the semifinals when they defeated Hong Kong 22-11, 25-17 for their fourth victory in a row.
Asad Al Hosni was the top scorer with 11 goals while Nasr Al Tamtami netted four goals. Said Al Hasani, Marwan Al Dughaishi and Hussain Al Jabri scored two goals apiece.
Oman currently occupy the top spot in Group B and with the top two qualifying for the semifinals, they will make it to the last four.
But it remains to be seen if they will advance as the group toppers with another victory in their final group match against hosts Vietnam on Thursday.
Mixed day for spikers
The Omani teams had a mixed day in the Round of 32 of the beach volleyball competition.
The duo of Badr Al Subhi and Nooh Al Jalboobi squandered an early advantage before losing their match 21-19, 15-21, 13-15 to Sri Lanka’s Pubudu Ekanayakage and Asanka Medagedara.
Haitham Al Shuraiqi and Ahmed Al Hosni, however, eased into the last 16 with a 21-1, 21-17 victory over Afghanistan’s Omir Zardan and Ramin Sediqi.
In the Round of 16, Haitham and Ahmed will take on Indonesia’s Mohammed Ashfiya and Rendy Verian.
Talib’s boys face Thais
The Sultanate’s beach soccer team had a rigorous training session on Wednesday on the eve of their quarterfinal match against Thailand.
Talib Hilal-coached Oman will face a stiff resistance from the Thais but they are confident of booking a place in the semifinals with a victory on Thursday.
The Omanis morale is boosted by their victory over regional rivals Qatar which helped them to reach the quarterfinals despite losing their opening Group B match to Lebanon.
Coach Talib Hilal said: “We have worked hard to prepare the team physically and technically for this crucial match against Thailand.”
“We have not played Thailand previously and we also know little about the team. But I have confidence in my boys and we hope the team win their match to qualify for the next stage,” he added.