ASIAN BEACH GAMES – BAHRAIN participated last night in the official closing ceremony of the sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China.
A colourful celebration was held at the seaside venue of Yasha Park, with athletes and officials representing 45 National Olympic Committees from across the continent on hand.
The kingdom’s delegation came away from the multi-sport meeting with one bronze medal – in beach wrestling, which was one of the four sports Bahrain’s athletes took part in. The others were beach handball, 3x3 basketball, and open water swimming.
The star sportsmen from the four national teams joined the traditional parade of nations during yesterday’s closing festivities, with beach handball star Adam Alnasheet having the honour of carrying the Bahraini flag.
Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Shaikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar declared this year’s Asian Beach Games closed as fireworks lit up the sky above Sanya Bay.
Shaikh Joaan later presented the OCA flag to Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, marking the handover to the Filipino city of Cebu, which will be hosting the next edition of the Asian Beach Games in 2028.
Amongst Bahrain’s officials in attendance at the ceremony were Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) board member and BOC Arab and international relations director Fajer Jassim Mohamed, Bahrain’s chef de mission in Sanya and BOC executive director of operations Ahmed Abdulghaffar, and deputy chef de mission and BOC Arab and international relations head Maryam Mardana.
Abdulghaffar highlighted that Bahrain’s participation in the sixth Asian Beach Games was largely successful, with the kingdom’s athletes showcasing a high level of competitiveness while coming close to adding to Bahrain’s lone bronze medal, claimed by elite grappler Shamil Sharipov in the men’s over-90kg weight class in beach wrestling.
Abdulghaffar noted that among the main objectives of taking part were to gain experience and interact with other Asian delegations, adding that it represents an important starting point to build for the next stage, including the following edition of the Asian Beach Games in the Philippines in 2028.
Abdulghaffar expressed his deep gratitude to Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and BOC president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his continuous support in advancing the kingdom’s Olympic and sports movement, which he said is a fundamental pillar to achieving positive results at the highest levels of competition.
Also yesterday, Abdulghaffar honoured the Chinese volunteers who assisted Bahrain’s delegation during their stay in Sanya, in the presence of Mardana. He presented them with tokens of appreciation in recognition of their great efforts, which helped contribute to the ideal environment enjoyed by the kingdom’s athletes to be able to perform their best in their respective sports.
Bahrain’s delegation is scheduled to fly back to the kingdom today. They will be transitting through Doha, Qatar.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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