Nagoya, September 29 (QNA) – The Qatari delegation won five medals (three silver and two bronze) today at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, currently being held in Japan through Oct. 4, taking its overall tally to 12 medals (three gold, five silver and four bronze.

Qatar’s shooting team opened the day’s medal haul by winning silver in the men’s team trap event through shooters Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Saeed Hamad Abu Sharib and Angelo Scalzone after finishing the competition in second place. The result added another medal for Qatari shooting following its two gold medals in the individual and team skeet events.

Qatar’s medal haul continued in athletics, with the men’s relay team claiming silver in the 4×400-meter relay, while Abubaker Abdalla secured bronze in the 800 meters.

In the men’s handball competition, Qatar won the silver medal after finishing second, while Qatari weightlifter Wissal Yakhlef recorded an impressive achievement by claiming bronze in the women’s over-85kg weightlifting event.

Qatar’s shooting champions continued to shine at the Asian Games today after the men’s team secured the silver medal in the team trap competition.

The men’s team of Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Saeed Hamad Abu Sharib and Angelo Scalzone finished second in the team trap competition with a score of 349 targets to claim silver, while Kuwait won gold and Kazakhstan took bronze.

With this silver medal, Qatari shooting added another medal to its tally following the team and individual skeet gold medals won earlier in the Games.

In the women’s team trap competition, Qatar’s team of Kholoud Hassan Al Khalaf, Ray Bassil and Meitha Hamad Al Binali finished fourth with 324 targets, just one target behind Kuwait, which secured bronze with 325.

In the individual competition, Saeed Hamad Abu Sharib finished sixth in the men’s trap final, while Kuwait’s Khaled Al Mudhaf won gold, Chinese Taipei’s Yang Kun-pi took silver and China’s Qi Ying claimed bronze.

For his part, President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association Dr. Meshaal Al Nasr expressed his delight at Qatar’s silver medal in the team trap competition, saying the medal reflected the outstanding level demonstrated by Qatari shooters at the Games.

In a press statement, Al Nasr said the trap silver had followed Qatar’s two gold medals in the individual and team skeet events, which confirmed the strong presence of Qatari shooting at the Games and reflected the considerable efforts made by the shooters and the technical and administrative staff to achieve the best possible results.

He added that he hoped Qatar’s shooters would continue their strong performances and win further medals. He also congratulated the Qatari athletes who claimed silver in the team trap competition following an intense three-day contest in which they succeeded in maintaining their position among the leading teams through the end of the competition.

Qatari shooter Mohammed Al Rumaihi, meanwhile, expressed his delight at helping lead the shooting team to silver in the team trap competition. He said the competition had been highly competitive from the first day and that the team had maintained its focus throughout the rounds in order to achieve the best possible result, ultimately succeeding in finishing the competition on the podium.

Qatari shooter Saeed Hamad Abu Sharib said the silver medal in the team trap competition was the result of collective effort and sustained concentration throughout the competition, noting that the event was highly competitive and required the shooters to maintain a consistent level of performance and a high degree of focus throughout the three days.

In athletics, Qatar won two medals (one silver and one bronze) in today’s competitions. The silver came in the men’s 4×400-meter relay, where Qatar’s team of Bassem Mohamed, Ismail Abakar, Youssef Abdulaziz Jibrin and Ammar Ibrahim delivered an impressive performance in the final to finish second in 3:00.93, the team’s best time this season.

The bronze medal was won by Qatar’s Abubaker Abdalla in the 800 meters after he finished third in a personal-best time of 1:45.25.

The race also featured Qatar’s Hatem Hameed, who finished sixth in 1:46.41.

For his part, Abubaker Abdalla expressed his great delight at winning bronze in the 800 meters, dedicating the achievement to the Qatari people and everyone who had supported him in reaching the podium.

Abubaker stressed that he had given everything in his bid to compete for the gold medal, but said the race had been extremely difficult given the presence of highly experienced runners.

In the men’s handball competition, Qatar’s national team was unable to retain the gold medal for a fourth consecutive Asian Games following its triumphs at Incheon 2014, Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022, settling for silver after losing the final to Bahrain 32-33.

The final remained closely contested and exciting throughout both halves, with Bahrain ultimately prevailing after capitalizing on several simple errors by the Qatari players that cost them the victory.

The first half began evenly, with the two teams trading goals. Bahrain took the lead on several occasions, while Qatar responded by drawing level, before Bahrain ended the first half ahead 16-15.

The second half also began evenly before Qatar drew level at 19-19 in the fifth minute. Bahrain then regained a 21-19 lead and maintained the advantage, moving ahead 30-26 before Qatar fought back to reduce the deficit to two goals at 28-30 and then to one at 29-30.

Bahrain restored its three-goal advantage at 32-29, enabling it to maintain the lead until the end and secure a 33-32 victory.

In weightlifting, Qatar’s Wissal Yakhlef won the bronze medal in the women’s +86kg competition after producing an impressive performance and recording a total of 273kg.

Yakhlef finished third behind China’s Li Wenwen, who won gold with a total of 310kg, while North Korea’s Park Hye-jeong claimed silver after lifting 300kg.

President of the Qatar Weightlifting Federation Mohammed Youssef Al Mana expressed his delight at Yakhlef’s bronze medal in the women’s +86kg competition, noting that the event had been extremely competitive and featured an intense contest among some of the best weightlifters in Asia and the world.

In a press statement, Al Mana said Yakhlef had given everything she had to reach the podium. He noted that competition in the weight category had been particularly intense because of the presence of champions from China and North Korea with major international achievements and titles, resulting in a fierce battle for the medals from the start of the competition through the final attempts.

He added that Yakhlef’s bronze medal represented an important achievement given the strength of the competition she faced. He said the medal would provide further motivation for the next phase of work aimed at developing the level of Qatar’s male and female weightlifters in the hope of achieving better results in upcoming competitions.

For her part, Yakhlef expressed her great delight at winning the bronze medal in the women’s +86kg competition, saying the medal had come after a difficult and highly competitive contest against the Chinese and North Korean weightlifters.

Yakhlef stressed that it was the most difficult medal of her career given the strength of the competition and the presence of top-level champions. She noted that reaching the podium at the Asian Games was no easy task and said she therefore felt extremely proud of the achievement.

Elsewhere, Qatar’s volleyball team, which had already secured qualification for the second round in the previous matchday, finished runner-up in Group C after losing 2-3 to India in a marathon encounter lasting more than two hours and featuring a highly competitive and exciting battle between the two teams in their final group-stage match.

India won the five-set contest 26-28, 25-27, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.

Qatar won the opening two sets and moved close to securing victory before India mounted a strong comeback, regained its composure and won the third and fourth sets to force a deciding fifth set.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s padel team, comprising Mishari and Rashid Nawaf, will begin its campaign tomorrow against Kuwait, with the Qatari pair seeking victory and a place in the second round.

The Qatari duo will be looking to produce a strong performance and capitalize on their strengths and skills, as well as their understanding on court, to win the match and continue their campaign in the competition. (QNA)