ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES – Bahrain's historic campaign in the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games has been hailed by a top official from the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA).
The kingdom’s athletes enjoyed a sensational haul of 34 medals in the multi-sport event, including 16 gold, 11 silver, and seven bronze – won in athletics, weightlifting, handball, volleyball, judo, wrestling, table tennis, fencing, and esports.
It was Bahrain’s best-ever tally in the Games’ history, and the gold medals placed the kingdom’s delegation in sixth place overall on the final ranking of 42 national delegations that came away with medals.
ISSA secretary general Nasser Majali praised Bahrain’s performance, highlighting that the kingdom remains “one of the top performing nations” in the quadrennial meeting.
“Bahrain has established itself as one of the top performing nations at recent Islamic Solidarity Games, and this is testament to the sustained commitment of all stakeholders, from government leadership to the National Olympic Committee and sports federations,” Majali told the GDN in an exclusive interview.
“Bahrain’s performances here in Riyadh only reinforce the country’s growing reputation as a leading sporting nation.”
Majali also expressed high regard for Bahrain as a host of major sports occasions, especially following the massive success of the third Asian Youth Games held on the island just last month, and after the kingdom was awarded the honour of staging the 2027 edition of the Arab Games.
“Bahrain has a strong track record of hosting sports events, and the recent Asian Youth Games delivered in a short timeframe was a good example of how it is a capable and reliable host nation,” said Majali.
“The testimonies from athletes and officials speak to this, and I am sure Bahrain will deliver another outstanding event when it hosts the Arab Games in 2027.”
On the possibility of the kingdom staging a future edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games, Majali said: “The 2029 edition was awarded to Selangor, Malaysia at the ISSA general assembly here in Riyadh; however, we are always open to discussing hosting opportunities with all 57 of our member countries, and are committed to finding a sustainable model which works for the host city and the host nation.”
Majali voiced his delight with the success of this year’s Islamic Solidarity Games in the Saudi capital, noting the incredible organisation required to put it on.
“The Islamic Solidarity Games have been a tremendous success, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve witnessed here in Riyadh,” he said. “We’ve seen some truly memorable sporting stories unfold.
“A multi-sport event featuring more than 3,000 athletes across 23 sports is an enormous undertaking, but we’ve been very careful to create a sustainable delivery model to maximise efficiencies.
“We had thousands of volunteers on the ground to ensure smooth delivery across all venues and operations, and welcomed athletes and fans from all 57 participating countries.
These volunteers were the backbone of the event, and this programme will leave a lasting legacy by significantly boosting Saudi Arabia’s event-hosting capacity and creating a skilled workforce for future international sporting events.
“The impact of the Islamic Solidarity Games has been amplified by our broadcasting partnerships with DAZN and ANOC TV, providing free-to-view streaming around the world.”
This year’s Islamic Solidarity Games was the second time it was held in Saudi, following the inaugural edition in 2005.
The event then took place in Iran in 2009, in Indonesia in 2013, in Azerbaijan in 2017, and in Türkiye in 2021, when Bahrain captured 23 medals, which was its best-ever haul then.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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