Our national athletics team’s delegation returned to Doha from Bahrain, crowned first in the men’s competition and with a large haul of medals, after our champions completed their participation in the 19th Arab Athletics Championships, held in the Bahraini capital, Manama, with champions from 21 Arab countries taking part. Qatar finished with 14 medals, including six gold.
The delegation was welcomed with roses by the Qatari athletics family, led by HE Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Asian and Qatari Athletics Federations and vice-president of the IAAF, Mohammed Suleiman, the federation’s assistant secretary-general, Abdul Hakim Al Omari, board member and chairman of the technical committee, and Abdulrahman Al Nobi, federation member.
HE Major General Al Hamad made a point of presenting bouquets of roses to Qatar’s male and female champions upon their arrival, congratulating them on their achievement for Qatari athletics. He affirmed the federation’s sound approach to nurturing generations and their development, especially since several of those who took part in the Arab Championships in the senior category were younger than the standard senior age, as the federation’s policy relies on a gradual approach for promising talents, giving them the opportunity to develop further by competing at higher levels, such as young athletes Abdalelah Haroun and Ahmed Al Saifi and female athletes Mariam Fareed and Bashayer Al Qurashi, among many other participants in the championship.
The Qatari athletics delegation took part in the championship with a group of 44 people headed by Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, the federation’s secretary-general, and managed to win six gold medals, the same number of silver and two bronze, finishing third overall among 21 countries and first in the men’s competition in the Arab world by gold medal count — a new achievement for Qatar’s national team, adding to their many achievements across all fields.
