By Abdellatif Sharaa
KUWAIT: Kuwait was declared champions of the 3rd Gulf Games at the conclusion of the tournament which the country hosted since May 16, as it collected a total of 96 medals including 36 gold, 28 silver and 32 bronze. Kuwait picked two gold medals in the final day of the tournament in the fencing event and two more in karate.
Bahrain was second in the overall table with 20 gold, 23 silver and 21 bronze. UAE finished in third place with 18 gold, 16 silver and 16 bronze. Saudi Arabia moved to fourth with 16 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze. Qatar placed fifth with 16 gold, 21 silver and 15 bronze, while Oman was sixth with 12 gold, 5 silver and 16 bronze.
Tennis gold: Kuwaiti
Kuwait won the tennis gold after defeating the bronze medalist Saudi Arabia 2-0. Qatar was second after defeating Bahrain 2-0 in the game's finals that were held at Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah International Tennis Complex. Kuwait's Essa Qabazard won the singles gold medal earlier by defeating Ammar Al-Hagbani while Saud Al-Hagbani won the bronze medal after defeating Qatar's Rashid Nawaf.
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Qatar picks handball gold
Qatar Handball Team defeated Bahrain 29-28 in the fifth and final round of competitions collecting the 8 possible points while Bahrain had 6. Kuwait won the bronze medal with 3 points when UAE which has 2 points defeated Saudi Arabia that had 1 point.
More gold for Kuwait fencing
Kuwait came out with the lion's share of the fencing event's gold when it raised its wins to four out of six gold medals in singles and teams. Kuwait won the teams Sabre gold, and the silver medals in the Foil and Epee.
Kuwait won gold by defeating Saudi Arabia 45-36 in the final match that was held at Jaber Al-Ahmad Center Hall at the Olympic Committee premises. The bronze medal went to UAE. Kuwait's team included Bandar and Yousuf Al-Shamlan, Ammar Al-Ammari and Abdelaziz Jumaa.
Saudi Arabia won the Epee gold by beating Kuwait 45-34 while Bahrain and UAE shared the bronze medal. Qatar won the Foil event by beating Kuwait 45-38, as Bahrain and UAE shared the Bronze.
Outstanding performance
The final day of karate saw the Saudi team grab three gold medals as Kuwait won two gold in the Kumite event. In the under 67 kg, Saudi Arabia's Fahad Al-Khathami won gold by defeating Kuwait's Mousa Hassan 8-4, while Saudi Arabia's Fayez Al-Nashri won the under 84 kg by defeating Bahrain's Salem Al-Jumaa 6-1. Saudi Arabia's Tareq Al-Hamidy won the 84+ kg gold by defeating Kuwait's Mohammad Al-Majidi 2-1. Kuwaiti player Sultan Al-Mutairi won the under 55 kg gold beating the Saudi player Yasser Barqi 3-0 while Abdallah Shaaban won the under 60kg gold by beating Saudi player Bader Al-Otaibi.
Fulaiteh thanks Olympic Committee
Director General of Public Authority for Sport Dr Humoud Fulaiteh thanked President of Kuwait Olympic Committee Sheikh Fahad Naser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and committee members for the success of the 3rd Gulf Games Kuwait 2022 and congratulated them for the outstanding results achieved by Kuwait athletes. He also thanked the Gulf delegations who participated in the games and contributed to its success.
Meanwhile, President of Qatar Handball Federation Ahmad Al-Shaabi thanked His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait Olympic Committee and Handball Association for the excellent organization adding that the success of Kuwait is the success of all.
Successful in all standards
President of Kuwait and Arab Tennis Federations Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber lauded Kuwait's organization of the 3rd Gulf Games adding the games were "a total success organizationally, technically and in terms of fans attendance." He added that Kuwaiti teams crowned this success with achievements that placed Kuwait on top of the medals table. "We hope such events are held frequently due to their benefit for improving the standards and results of Kuwait players," he added.
Joint efforts
President of Qatar Tennis Federation Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi said Kuwait succeeded in hosting the GCC Games, adding "we thank all those who worked for the success of the games starting with the government represented by the Public Authority for Sport and Kuwait Olympic Committee as well as athletes and fans."
He said among the positives of these games was the strong competition between athletes both in singles and teams' contests, as evident by the tennis competitions as the gold medal was not determined until the final day after five days of competing.