Muscat, November 17 (ONA) - The year 2019 witnessed many honourable sporting achievements that are added to the Sultanate’s records at various Asian, Arab and Gulf levels in various team and individual sports. The national teams won 344 colored ones, including 75 gold medals, 141 silver medals and 128 bronze medals.
Within the framework of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth plan to implement sports and youth activities for the year 2019, the Ministry established many programs and events throughout the year in the various governorates of the Sultanate, which contributed to harnessing the energies of youth to practice beneficial activities and invest their time in a way that benefits them and the good of their society. The implemented programs were the Summer Sports Program, the Cheer Your Team Program, the Youth Program, the Youth Creativity Competition, and the Club Youth Camps Program.
As part of the Ministry's plan to implement infrastructure projects for sports facilities, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth seeks to establish new sports complexes and centres in various governorates of the Sultanate and to strengthen and improve the infrastructure of existing facilities in sports complexes and clubs in accordance with the available financial allocations. In 2019, the Ministry continued its work in implementing ongoing projects to improve and develop sports complexes. It has also followed up on implementation projects to establish 7 sports centres in the various states of the Sultanate in which there are no sports clubs as part of a comprehensive plan to deliver sports and youth services to all members of society, and these centres will be an outlet and resort for practicing sports and youth activities.
Besides, work is continuing with sports clubs to find out their priorities and needs of facilities within the infrastructure improvement project. During the year 2019, many consultant studies tenders and project implementation tenders were offered and work began on implementing some club projects in the various governorates of the Sultanate.
The ministry continues its efforts to encourage the practice of sport in general. Represented by its directorates and departments in the governorates, it has worked to expand various youth activities to meet the various aspirations of Omani youth and to spread sports awareness among different segments of society. This is evidenced by the activities, programs and competitions implemented throughout the year.
Among the youth programs and activities implemented by the Ministry in 2019 is the Youth Creativity Competition, which was launched in its first version in 2013 with the aim of developing institutional youth work to encourage and attract the best and creative people in various youth activities, develop their capabilities and enable youth in clubs to interact with various cultural, social, artistic and sports activities and link them to community issues. This competition was able to create a competitive framework for those who are glorified in youth activities from the various governorates of the Sultanate, as the competition met with much approval and acceptance and highlighted many talents and innovators.
The Ministry organized the competition in its seventh edition for the year 2018/2019, where the participants were divided into 3 age categories (10-15 years old, 16 to 22 years old, and 23 to 30 years old including male and female. The number of participants reached 7,388 during the implementation period of the competition from October 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, and it was divided into three phases.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Award for Youth Club Initiatives "Mobaderoon", which it launched to build and support youth club initiatives, is an investment in youth leaders that have a fundamental role in building a bright future for the Sultanate. It targets young people from the clubs who have innovative non-profit initiatives, projects or programs to serve the local community or to meet one of its needs that have been implemented in the field or are being implemented on the ground. The competition phases began from March 1, 2019 to June 19, 2019, and the number of initiatives reached 133 from all over the Sultanate. The winners were awarded with a financial prize and a prize shield. The award also works to assist the winners and direct them towards the competent authorities to enhance and develop their initiatives.
The Sports Summer Program aims to invest youth free time towards practicing various sports and refining and developing their abilities during the summer season. The activities of the program began in 2019 in its fourteenth session during the period from June 9 and continued until August 22, and the number of participants in this program during this year reached 34,308 male and female participants from all governorates of the Sultanate. The number of female participants in the program reached 4,280 from different governorates of the Sultanate.
The Ministry completed its youth and summer programs, including the “My Youth 2019” program, in its eighth session, which included a number of events and activities related to the youth category. It varied between cultural, social, scientific, artistic, popular heritage, environmental activity, and youth forum. All this is to achieve the desired goals by confirming the participation of young people in the program. The youth program was implemented from June 1 to August 30, 2019. The number of participants reached 21,226 male and female participants.
In addition, Cheer Your Team program, which was implemented during the period from June 1 to August 7, 2019, aimed at providing a competitive sporting atmosphere, creating strong relationships between clubs and public teams, encouraging public teams to join and working under the banner of clubs, giving talents the opportunity to support sports club teams, including national teams, and encouraging clubs to set technical controls and regulations that regulate the sports activities implemented for the public teams, highlighting the role of the private sector and supporting and funded sports figures and making them successful on the financial and human levels.
The program also aimed to limit the number of public teams to determine their suitability in preparation for creating a special database for them, and it also gives Omani youth the opportunity to upgrade the skills of organizing and managing sports activities according to a typical strategic plan that meets the aspirations and hopes of the Ministry.
The program included football and volleyball and witnessed wide participation from the sports teams affiliated to clubs, sports centres and wilayats. The competitions included three stages, which are at the club level, then at the governorate level, and then at the level of the Sultanate. The number of beneficiaries reached 21,320, and the number of people attending the matches reached 44,083.
The Sports Club Youth Camps Program is part of the youth programs implemented by the Ministry during the year 2019, in its seventh edition, to be an extension of the summer programs and events of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. The youth clubs' camps are distinguished by that they seek to develop the leadership spirit among young people who are nominated by sports clubs and sports centres in the Sultanate.
The program targeted affiliates of sports clubs from the category of male youth between the ages of 18-26 years. The total number of participants in the youth clubs' camps reached 428, and the number of administrators and volunteers reached 194.
The club singing competition is one of the summer programs set up by the ministry, to serve young people, take care of their talents, refine them and take care of them, and adopt talented chanting singers. The total number of participants in the club singing competition was 2809 individuals and 107 teams.
During the year 2019, the Ministry and the Oman Olympic Committee continued their support for women's sports activities, and many sports programs for them were held in the Governorate of Muscat, such as the Athletics Championship and the Handball Clubs Championship for Girls. Throughout the year, the Ministry implemented multiple sports programs for women in various governorates of the Sultanate.
The participation of people with disabilities in competitive sports, locally and abroad, is also considered a prominent achievement of this group. Their raising of the Sultanate’s flag in foreign sporting forums highlights the ambition and challenge of this group in sports competitions. The Ministry, represented by the Oman Paralympic Committee and the Department of Specific Bodies in the Ministry, works side by side with the Ministry of Social Development to take care of the sport of people with disabilities and sponsor the national teams for people with disabilities. Two festivals for people with disabilities were implemented this year.
The ministry, represented by the Centre for National Teams Affairs, seeks to provide teams with sports cadres by establishing centres for the preparation of juniors in sports complexes in the governorates, where specialized trainers are provided in each center. The number of centres reached 33 and the number of its members reached 680.
The number of beneficiaries of sports complexes in 2019 reached 1,191,982, and the highest percentage of beneficiaries from the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex was 35.7%, followed by the number of beneficiaries in the Sports Complex in Suhar, at 12.9%.
The number of beneficiaries of the sports complexes varied during the past year, reaching a peak in July with a total of 143,977, while the lowest number of beneficiaries was in June with a total of 64,224.
The percentage of the beneficiaries of the sports and youth activities and programs that were implemented in the sports complexes reached 59% of the total beneficiaries, which is the highest percentage, followed by the activities of the Olympic Committee and sports associations with 16%.
The number of beneficiaries of the services of sports medicine centres during the year 2019 was 1,174. January is the month that recorded the largest number of injuries. The Oman Football Association also recorded the largest number of injuries treated at the center, with 932 cases, and the lowest was in the Oman Tennis Association (13 only). Knee injuries were the most common types of injuries sustained by athletes, with a total of 747 injuries.
The sporting achievements of the national teams and teams varied during 2019, and varied between the various sports and the number of medals achieved in each one, as the number of medals reached 344 colored medals.
In football, the national beach soccer team snatched third place in the AFC Beach Soccer Cup finals, which were held from 10-17 March 2019 at the Palihai Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand, to get the team the third qualifying card for the Beach Soccer World Cup Finals.
In handball, the national beach handball team won the silver medal in the seventh Asian Beach Handball Championship that was held during the period 15-24 June 2019 in Weihai, China. The national handball team for girls was able to achieve third place in the sixth GCC Women's Sports Championship, which was held in Kuwait from 20-30 October 2019.
The national handball team for girls was able to achieve third place in the sixth GCC Women's Sports Championship, which was held in Kuwait from 20-30 October
In athletics, the National Athletics Team won 16 colored medals (7 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze medals) in the Gulf Championship for Athletics which was held from February 18 to 23, 2019 in the State of Qatar with the participation of three GCC teams, which are the national team, the Qatar national team and the Kuwait national team.
The junior athletics national team won the bronze medal in the 200-meter race through Ali bin Anwar Al Balushi in the Asian Junior Athletics Championships, which was held from 15-17 March 2019 in Hong Kong.
The National Athletics Team won two bronze medals in the Arab Athletics Championships that were held in Egypt from 4-8 April 2019. The national athletics team won a gold and a silver medal in the International Indoor Championships that were held on March 3 and 4, 2020 in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the International Futsal Championships that were held on March 3 and 4, 2020 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The National Athletics Team won the bronze medal in the 4x100 metres relay race as part of its participation in the Asian Athletics Championships, which were held in the State of Qatar during the period from 21 - 24 April 2019.
The National Athletics team also won 6 colored medals (4 silver and 2 bronze medals) in the Arab Junior and Junior Championships that was held in the Tunisian Republic during the period from 2 to 8 July 2019, and the national athletics team won 9 colored medals (5 silver and 4 bronze medals) and in the West Asian Athletics Championships for Juniors, which was held from 13 - 19 August 2019 in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
As for swimming, the national swimming team won 5 colored medals in the Gulf Short Course Swimming Championships that were held in the State of Kuwait from 25 - 27 April 2019. The national team won a silver medal and 4 bronze medals, and the national swimming team won 7 colored medals in the seventeenth open water swimming championship that was held in the State of Kuwait during the period from 19 - 21 April 2019 (4 gold medals, 2 silver medals and a bronze medal). The national swimming team also won 4 gold and 3 silver medals in the 1st Arab Masters Championship, which was held during the period from 5 to 9 May 2019 in the Republic of Tunisia.
The national swimming team won a bronze medal in the Arab Swimming Championships for age categories, which was held in the Kingdom of Morocco during the period from 8-21 August 2019. The national swimming team won two bronze medals in the twenty-seventh water games tournament of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, which was held in the State of Kuwait from 5 - 8 September 2019.
In volleyball, the National Beach Volleyball Team won the West Asian Beach Volleyball Qualifiers, which was hosted by the Lebanese capital Beirut, after it managed to win the final match over the Lebanese national team from July 30 to August 4, 2019.
The National Beach Volleyball Team won the silver medal in the Star 1 World Beach Volleyball Championship (1), which was held from 24-28 August 2019 and organized by the Oman Volleyball Association under the supervision of the International Game Federation. The national beach volleyball team won third place in the first Arab Beaches Championship hosted by the Sultanate during the period from 18 - 24 August 2019.
The national team also won the title of the 28th Arab Men's Beach Volleyball Championship, which was concluded on the beach playgrounds of the Municipal Recreation Center. It was organized by the Oman Volleyball Association under the supervision of the Arab Volleyball Federation within the sports events accompanying the Salalah Tourism Festival 2019 during the period from 18 to 24 August 2019. The national junior team also ranked third in the tournament.
As for tennis, the national tennis team won third place in the West Asian Tennis Championship that was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from March 30 to April 6, 2019. The National Tennis Team ranked third, and for the U-16 category ranked second, and the U-12 category ranked third in the Gulf Cooperation Council Championship, which was held from 23-28 April 2019 AD with the participation of three Gulf countries.
The national tennis team also won a silver medal in the individual under-14 category, and a bronze medal in the under-18 category in the Gulf Championship hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain during the period from 15 - 22 November 2019 with the participation of all Gulf teams, during which the under-18 team achieved third place in the overall standings.
In equestrian, the tent pegging national team achieved first place in the first military tent pegging championship, which were held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in October 2019. The national tent pegging team won also a gold medal in the Gulf Friendship Tent Pegging Championship that was held in December 2019 and supervised by the Muscat-based International Tent Pegging Federation.
The archery had its share of accomplishments with the achievement of the gold medal and the cup for The 50m Rifle 3 Positions competition by the shooter Hamad bin Saeed Al-Khatri, in the eighth annual Grand International Shooting Championship, which was held in the State of Kuwait during the period from 9 to 14 February 2019. Shooter Ibrahim bin Salem Al-Muqbali also won the third place and a bronze medal in the same competition. In the 10m air rifle competition, Shooter Hamad bin Saeed Al Khatri managed to achieve the silver medal.
The national shooting team won two bronze medals in the World Cup Shotgun, held in Kazakhstan during the period from September 18-30, 2019 and 15 countries participated in the tournament. The national shooting team for girls also won 6 colored medals, including three silver and 3 bronze medals, in the competitions of the sixth GCC Women's Sports Championship, which were held in Jahra Square in the State of Kuwait during the period from 20 to 24 October 2019.
The national shooting team won two bronze medals in the 14th Asian Shooting Championship that was held in the State of Qatar during the period from October 30 to November 14, 2019. The national shooting team won 4 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 4 bronze medals during its participation in the Arab Shooting Championship that was held during the period from 19 - 27 December 2019 in the United Arab Emirates with the participation of nine Gulf and Arab countries.
In hockey, the national Pioneers hockey team won the gold medal in the Bahrain International Hockey Championship, which was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 25 - 27 April 2019. The national hockey team was able to snatch second place in the AHC Central Asian Cup, which was held in Kazakhstan during the period from 2-8 September 2019.
The national hockey team won the runner-up position in the AHC Junior Hockey Cup hosted by the Sultanate from 5-14 December 2019.
In the camel races, the Sultanate's camels participated in the camel races of the sixth Gulf Cooperation Council Camel Championship that was held in the State of Kuwait from 17-21 November 2019, during which it won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
As for sporting achievements at the level of sports committees, the National Team for People with Disabilities supervised by the Omani Paralympic Committee won 4 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and two bronze medals at the Moroccan International Athletics Forum hosted by Marrakesh, Morocco under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee IPC during the period from 25-29 April 2019, with the participation of more than 330 players, representing 33 countries.
The national team for people with disabilities won 7 colored medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) during its participation in the Tunis International Athletics Forum for People with Disabilities in its thirteenth edition, which was held during the period from 24-30 June 2019.
The national team for people with disabilities also won 19 colored medals (7 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals) in the Second West Asian Paralympic Games hosted in the Jordanian capital, Amman, during the period from 15 - 22 September 2019.
The national team for people with disabilities for Athletics won 4 silver medals and 5 bronze medals in the competitions of the sixth GCC Women's Sports Championship, which was held in the State of Kuwait from 20 to 30 October 2019.
In bowling, the national bowling team was crowned with a gold medal, two silver medals and two bronze medals in the Arab Bowling Championship hosted by the Egyptian capital Cairo from 14 to 23 February 2019.
The national bowling team was able to win 3 colored medals, including two silver and one bronze, in the sixth edition of the GCC Women's Sports Championship, which was held in the State of Kuwait from 19 to 24 October 2019.
As for cycling, the national cycling team won the first and second places in the cycling race, which was held in Corsica from 5 to 9 April 2019.
In weightlifting and physical strength, the national weightlifting team won 93 colored medals (10 gold, 56 silver and 27 bronze medals) in the Gulf and West Asian Weightlifting Championships that were held during the period from March 26 to April 1, 2019 with the participation of the GCC and West Asian teams that were held at the main hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bowsher.
The national physical strength team won 13 colored medals (2 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals) in the Asian Physical Strength Championship that was held in Hong Kong during the period from 20 to 26 April 2019.
The national weightlifting team won 15 colored medals in the Arab Weightlifting Championship that was held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during the period from 12 to 18 December 2019, including (6 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals).
In bodybuilding, the national bodybuilding and physique team was crowned with 6 colored medals, including 2 gold and 4 bronze, in the West Asian Body Building and Physique Championships that were held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 18 to 20 April 2019.
The national bodybuilding and physique team won two medals, one gold and one silver, in the Arab Body Building and Physique Championships, which were held in Asyut Governorate in the Arab Republic of Egypt during the period from April 28 to May 2, 2019.
The national bodybuilding and physique team participated in the Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Championships, which were held in the Republic of China from 26-30 July 2019, during which the team won two silver and one bronze. The national bodybuilding and physique team won two medals, one silver and one bronze, during its participation in the World Body Building and Physique Championships, which were held in the Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, from 6 to 10 November 2019, with the participation of 562 players from 56 countries from around the world.
In golf, the national under-15 golf team was able to win two bronze medals in the Arab Junior and Girls Golf Championship, which was held during the period from 23 to 26 September 2019 in the Arab Republic of Egypt at Dreamland golf courses in Cairo. The national golf team won 4 colored medals in the 23rd Men's Gulf Cooperation Council Championship, the 12th Under-18 GCC Championship, the 6th Under-15 GCC Championship, the first Under-13 GCC Championship and the fifth Girls' GCC Championship during the period from December 27 to 31, 2019 at Ghala Golf Club, including two gold and two silver medals.
In the sports of Sepak takraw, Kabaddi and Wooden Ball, the national team of Sepak takraw achieved third place in the King of Thailand Sepak takraw Cup Championship that was held in the Kingdom of Thailand during the period from August 22 to September 3, 2019, with the participation of 36 teams from different countries of the world. The national wooden ball team won the third place in the 24th Taiwan Wooden Ball Open Championship, which was held in Taiwan during the period from October 1 to 7, 2019.
As for billiards and snooker, the national junior team and professors of billiards and snooker achieved 9 medals, including one silver and eight bronze medals, in the Gulf Championship competitions hosted by the Sultanate represented by the Oman Billiards and Snooker Committee in cooperation with the GCC Organizing Committee during the period from 28 November to 9 December 2019.
In sailing, the national sailing team was crowned the title of the Arab Sailing Championship 2019 during the period from 21 - 26 October 2019 on the shores of the city of Alexandria in the Arab Republic of Egypt, in which 69 sailors participated, representing 8 countries, namely the Sultanate, the UA, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Morocco. The team won 3 gold, 4 silver, and a bronze medal.
The national dhow sailing team won the first place in the traditional rowing race that was held in October 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, and the national sailing team snatched second place in the traditional rowing race that was held in November 2019 in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The national sailing team won the first place in the Asian Sailing Championship that was held from 4 to 9 November 2019 in the United Arab Emirates.
The national sailing team won a silver and a bronze medal in the Gulf Cooperation Council Indoor Rowing Championship that was held during the period from 19 to 21 December 2019 in the State of Kuwait.
In taekwondo, the national taekwondo player, Muhammad bin Sultan Al Mahrouqi, won the bronze medal in the under 58 kg weight category in the G1 Spain Open Championship, which was held from 13 to 15 April 2019.
The national taekwondo team for girls in the sixth edition of the GCC Women's Sport Competition, which was held in Kuwait during the month of October 2019, won 4 colored medals, including two silver and two bronze medals.
In university sports, the university national football team won third place and bronze medal in the Asian University Championship that was held from September 18 to 26, 2019 in Taipei, China.
The national university futsal team won the second place in the Arab League Futsal Championship that was held from October 29 to November 9, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates.
As for the fencing, Al-Harith Al-Harithi won the gold medal in the épée category, and Israa bint Saif Al-Siyabia won a bronze medal in the foil category during her participation in the FCA Championship that was held in Dubai during the period from 21 to 22 November 2019, with the participation of 25 players.
In table tennis, the u-11 national table tennis team was able to get third place in the West Asian Table Tennis Championship that was held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 15 to 19 August 2019.
(ONA)