The Asian Games, or Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia.
The Asian Games wrapped up on Sunday, with China dominating the medal count and Qatar making its own statement in Hangzhou.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary-General H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain applauded Qatar’s finishing as the country gathered a tally of 14 medals with five gold, six silver, and three bronze.
“Without a doubt, the Qatar athletes delivered as they always do in such major events and achieved honorable results reflecting in the medals tally of 14 medals. A number of our athletes were also on the verge of winning medals had it not been for their luck,” Al Buainain said.
“We feel satisfied with the results achieved, which reflect the development of Qatari sports in light of the unlimited support it enjoys from our wise leadership and the great attention given by the Qatar Olympic Committee, headed by His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, to all sports, in addition to the work done by federations and committees,” Al Buainain stated.
“We hope that the results achieved will act as an incentive for athletes to achieve more achievements in future participations,” the Secretary-General added.
Qatar’s handball team won their last match against Bahrain, raising the final count. This marked the third gold campaign for the Qatari squad as they won in 2014 in South Korea and 2018 in Indonesia.
Qatar won the gold medals through high jump legend Mutaz Barshim,
and Abderrahman Samba Alsaleck, who seized a second gold medal on the track when after winning the men’s 400-metre hurdles.
Mohammed Al Garni won Team Qatar another gold medal, with Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan claiming the beach volleyball gold medal. The Qatar Handball Team won the last gold medal.
At the silver platter, Qatar’s equestrian team Faleh Al Ajami, Khalifa Al Thani, Rashid Al Marri, and Basem Mohammed settled for silver in the jumping team.
Qatar’s 4x400M relay team Abderrahman Samba, Ashraf Osman, Ismail Abakar, with Bassem Hemeida also took a silver medal.
Sliver medals were also handed out to Qatar’s Basketball 3 vs 3 team, and the Skeet shooting team.
In third place, squash player Abdullah Al Tamimi won his first medal at the Asian Games, and shooter Reem Al Sharshanialso and Rashid Al Athba claimed a bronze medal.
The Hangzhou Asian Games saw the participation of over 12,000 athletes from 45 countries, with hosts China dominating the medal tally with 383 medals (201 gold), ahead of Japan (188 medals, 52 gold) and the Republic of Korea (190 medals, 42 gold).
