ASIAN BEACH GAMES – BAHRAIN took part in the grand opening ceremony of the sixth Asian Beach Games last night in Sanya, China.
The kingdom’s representatives were one of 45 delegations from across the continent that participated in the colourful inauguration, which was held at Sanya Yasha Park located in Tianya District and attended by Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) media committee chair Faris Al Kooheji.
Also on hand was Bahrain’s chef de mission in Sanya and BOC executive director of operations Ahmed Abdulghaffar, along with high-ranking officials from the OCA and the International Olympic Committee.
Bahrain’s beach handball national team star Bilal Basham had the honour of carrying the kingdom’s flag during the ceremony’s parade of nations. Basham led a 21-member group that included fellow-beach handball players as well as administrative and technical staff of the Bahraini delegation.
They also took advantage of the occasion to introduce Bahrain to participants from various other countries as they received a warm welcome from all those present.
The opening ceremony marked the official start of competition in this year’s Asian Beach Games, and it was an impressive showcase of the participating nations’ cultures and national identity.
Bahrain’s participation in the multi-sport meeting comes in light of the unwavering support that the kingdom’s sports movement enjoys from Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and BOC president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the BOC’s keenness to enhance Bahrain’s presence in international and continental forums.
Bahrain are fielding athletes in four sports at the sixth Asian Beach Games, including beach handball, 3x3 basketball, open water swimming, and beach wrestling.
The kingdom’s beach handball national team are back in action today for their second assignment in Group A of their tournament’s preliminary round. They are coming off a thrilling 2-0 victory over hosts China in their opening fixture on Tuesday earlier this week, and will be looking to continue their winning ways when they face off with the Philippines at 5am, Bahrain time.
Following their game today, the nationals are scheduled to face Sri Lanka tomorrow at 1pm before playing Iran on Sunday at 11am. The Bahrainis then complete their schedule in the preliminaries against Hong Kong on Monday at 6am. All times are Bahrain.
The kingdom’s squad will be hoping to secure a spot amongst the top two in their group to make it through to the semi-finals, scheduled for Tuesday next week. The gold and bronze medal contests will then be held on the concluding day of this year’s Asian Beach Games next Thursday.
In 3x3 basketball, Bahrain will be fielding the quartet of Bogdan Dragovic, Milos Supica, Nasser Al Mosawi, and Austin Ajukwa. Their medal bid begins on Saturday.
In open water swimming – which is under the sport of athletics in Sanya – William Balzano and fellow-simmer Robert Bonsall will be flying the kingdom’s flag in their five-kilometre event on Sunday.
Bahrain will also be going for gold with their elite grapplers in the beach wrestling events on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Set to compete are Shamil Sharipov in the men’s 90kg weight class, Magomed Sharipov in the men’s 90kg category, Magomedrasul Asluev in the men’s 80kg division, and Alibeg Alibegov in the men’s 70kg class.
Aside from the four sports Bahrain are taking part in, also to be held in Sanya are beach soccer, beach kabaddi, beach athletics, dragon boat, jiu-jitsu, sailing, speed sports climbing, teqball, aquathlon triathlon, and beach volleyball.
This year’s edition of the Asian Beach Games will be the first time the multi-sport event is being staged in a decade – with the previous occasion happening in 2016 in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Across the past five Asian Beach Games, Bahrain bagged a total of 11 medals, including seven gold, three silver, and one bronze.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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