(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Qatar's 3x3 basketball team demonstrated their prowess with another commanding win to reach the quarter-finals while Ismail Abakar booked a place in the men's 400 meters final at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, yesterday.
The 3x3 basketball team defeated Cambodia with a convincing 21-5 win to advance, adding to their impressive track record - having previously triumphed over Kazakhstan (19-11), Thailand (16-12), and Kyrgyzstan (21-5) in Pool D.
Their stellar performance in the round-robin stage means they will face either Japan or Macau for a place in the semi-final, today at the Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre.
Following yesterday's win, Team Director Yassin Ismail said that their ambitious goal is to win a medal at the Asiad this time.
Ismail expressed his confidence in the team during a press briefing, citing the impressive performance of the 3X3 basketball team. He highlighted that the team managed to secure a flawless record by clinching victories in all four matches played thus far, a remarkable achievement that earned them a well-deserved place in the quarter-finals.
Looking ahead, Ismail outlined the team's immediate objective is to secure a place in the semi-finals through their upcoming match, and highlighted the team's methodical approach, dealing with each match individually.
“The ultimate aspiration is to ascend the podium, reflecting the high standards and dedication exhibited by the team throughout their campaign,” Ismail, a legend in Asian basketball, said.
Qatar's Ismail Abakar (second right) competes in the men's 400 metres heats, yesterday.
Elsewhere, the athletics competitions saw Qatar's Abakar and Femi Ogunode both making it past the preliminaries in their respective events.
Competing in heat 2 of the men's 400 metres at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Park Main Stadium under lights, Abakar clocked an impressive personal best time of 46.03. He missed out on automatic qualification as he finished third, but managed to seal a place in today's eight-man final as one of the two fastest losers.
However, Abakar's compatriot Ashraf Osman failed to advance after he finished fourth in his heat with a time of 46.82.
There is another medal hope for Qatar, in the men's 100 metres.
Former Asian champion Femi Ogunode earned a spot in the semi-finals of the men's 100 meters by clocking 10.24 seconds while finishing second in his heat.
Ogunode's time placed him fifth among the 42 sprinters who participated in the event.
The track star Ogunode, who has a personal best of 9.91 secs in the 100 metres, owns four sprint golds from previous editions of the Asian Games. These include gold medals in both 100 and 200 sprints from the 2010 and 2014 Games. Ogunode will be aiming for another double in China this time, when he competes in the 200m race later at the same venue.
Meanwhile, the defending men's handball champions Qatar yesterday continued their unbeaten run by defeating Kazakhstan 46-13 in the first of three main-round matches at the Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre.
Qatar will take on China today, and Japan in their final Main Round match as they target an unprecedented third gold medal in a row at the Asian Games.
However, Qatar's shooting contingent, which had previously contributed three of the country's four medals, did not fare well yesterday. In the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions, Ali Al Muhannadi finished 29th in the qualifications with a total score of 574, failing to advance to the final. Similarly, Nasra Mohamud ranked 51st in the 10m air pistol women's event with a score of 549.
Elsewhere, at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Park Aquatics Center, the swimming events concluded with none of the Qatari swimmers -Abdalla Al Khaldi (men's 50m breaststroke and 400m freestyle), Abdalla El Ghamry (men's 200m backstroke), Diab Ahmed (men's 400m freestyle), Ismail Mohamed, and Tameem ElHamayda (men's 200m butterfly) - advancing to the finals.
Today, apart from Abakar, three other Qatari athletes will compete in the finals at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Ashraf Elseify and Ahmed Elsify will contend for medals in the men's hammer throw, while Seifeldin Abdelsalam will participate in the men's pole vault final. Additionally, Abdirahman Hassan and Mohamad Algarni will take part in the men's 1500m heats.
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