Qatari shooter Hamad Ali Al Marri celebrates after winning the bronze medal yesterday.
Doha: Shooter Hamad Ali Al Marri won the bronze medal in the men’s double trap competition to put Qatar’s name on the Asian Games medal table yesterday.
Al Marri collected 53 points in the final round which took place at the Jakabaring Sport City Shooting Range in Palembang in Indonesia, behind the gold winner, South Korea’s Shin Hyun-woo and Indian silver medallist Shardul Vihan.
Hyun-Woo collected 74 points while Vihan scored 73.
“The competition was very strong; the gold medal was not a faraway goal, there was only one point difference. But I’m satisfied and happy with the bronze medal as all the hard work and effort paid off, and I give this medal to the people of Qatar who all supported me in my journey,” Al Marri said after securing Qatar’s maiden podium finish in the 18th Asian Games yesterday.
In the qualification round which took place in the morning session, Al Marri finished second behind the Indian shooter to make it to the final round.
Abdulbaset Mohamed Mohsin was placed 13th in the qualification round and failed to join Al Marri in the final round.
In the women’s double trap final, Qatari shooters Kholoud Hassan Al Khalaf and Amna Mesaad Al Abdulla finished 11th and 12th respectively.
The men’s 10m running target (Slow) qualification round saw Qatar’s Mohamed Abdelmohsin Abouteama finishing in the eighth spot. He will compete in the fast category of the running target today.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Janko and Cherif Samba lifted hopes of a medal for Qatar in beach volleyball when they defeated their Sri Lankan counterparts 21-12, 21-11 to reach the round of 16.
At the JSC Beach Volley Arena in Palembang, the Qatari players were too good for Sri Lanka’s Lakmal Medagedara and Sashimal Yapa in their final pool match.
Yesterday’s win also put the unbeaten Qatari pair at the top of Pool B. They will take on Kazakhstan’s Alexey Kuleshov and Alexandr Babichev today with eye on the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Qatar’s top squash player Abdulla Al Tamimi booked a berth in the quarter-finals after winning both his men’s single round of 32 and round of 16 clashes.
First, the young Aspire Academy graduate defeated Mongolia’s Davaasuren Bat-Oktyabri in straight sets to seal his place in the top 16.
Later, Tamimi eliminated Japan’s Tsukue Ryunosuke by handing him a 3-1 defeat Tamimi is one of the top favourites to win a medal for Qatar in his pet event, having recently won the Malaysia Open and climbed to the 28th position on the PSA World Ranking.
Tamimi’s compatriot, Syed Amjaddefeated Mongolia’s Enkhbold Bat-Aamgalan 3-0 in the round of 32, but lost to top Malaysian star Mohamed Nafiizwan Adnan 3-0 in the pre-quarter-finals yesterday.
Meanwhile, Qatari paragliders Ali Al Yafe and Abdellatif Al Qahtani competed in the final medal round of men’s individual accuracy and ranked 19th and 33rd respectively.
In the men’s 50m butterfly heats, Qatar’s 19-year-old Noah Alkhulaifi finished third while his 17-year old team-mate Yacob Alkhulaifi came in fifth. Both of them competed in the third heat and none of them made it to the final.
Noah was ranked 29th with a time of 25.70 while Yacob’s 26.30 second finish earned him the 33rd position.
In the 100m freestyle, Firas Saidi finished second in the second heat, clocking a time of 53.45 secs, but it was not enough for him to reach the last eight.
Abdelaziz Al Obaidly and Mesalam Al Nabit were also in action at the GBK Aquatic Center yesterday. In the 200m backstroke, the two Qatari were ranked 17th (2:13.92) and 21st (2:24.94) respectively.
Qatari female rower Tala Abujabara put up a good show in the single sculls final - B yesterday to win her round, but was placed seventh overall.
Today, Qatari handball players will meet Japan in their third and final group match, but the result will only affect Japan’s fate as Al Annabi have already secured a place in the semi-finals, having won both their Group 1 matches in the main round. Top two teams of each group will gain direct entries to the semi-finals.
In volleyball, the reigning Asian Volleyball Confederation champions Qatar will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record with a win against Hong Kong in their final Pool F match today. Qatar are already on top of their group, having defeated India and Maldives convincingly.
