Khalid Al Yafei secured the bronze medal in the men’s foil event in fencing, while wrestler Shaheen Mohammad clinched bronze in the 77kg weight category to boost Qatar’s medal tally at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Al Yafei claimed bronze after losing his semi-final to Turkey’s Kivanc Kirtay 10–15, while Shaheen earned his medal after a dominant 8–1 victory over Tunisia’s Sami Salama.
Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim, President of the Qatar Fencing Federation, expressed his delight at the achievement of fencer Khalid Al Yafai.
He said, “The medal won by Khalid is not just the result of a single match, but rather the product of a comprehensive system of work that began years ago.
Khalid is a hardworking fencer with a high ability to read the flow of a match and make the right decision at the right moment, and this was clearly demonstrated during his participation in this tournament.
” Shaheen began his campaign by beating Turkey’s Younes Basar 4–1 in the quarter-finals before losing the semi-final to Kyrgyz wrestler Akzhol Makhmudov 3–5, which placed him in the bronze-medal match.
His teammate Aref Mohammedi finished fourth after losing the 67kg bronze-medal contest to Uzbekistan’s Aytjan Khalkhmakhanov 2–5.
Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al Thani, President of the Qatar Boxing and Wrestling Federation, expressed his great happiness with the achievement of Shaheen Mohammed.
He said, “Shaheen’s performance was exceptional, and he deservedly earned his place on the podium.
He demonstrated his high technical abilities and his capacity to handle pressure throughout the tournament, achieving a feat befitting the advanced level that Qatari wrestling has reached.
” In the women’s épée competition, Qatar’s Sheikha Jassim exited in the Round of 16 after losing to Saudi athlete Nada Abed 8–15, while teammate Thikrayat Al Abdullah was eliminated in the Round of 32 after a narrow 14–15 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Dhi Al Amri.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s handball team claimed a convincing 44–6 victory over the Maldives in their final group-stage match.
With this third consecutive win, Qatar topped Group A with a perfect six points and will face Bahrain, second in Group B, in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
In athletics, Qatar’s Abubaker Haydar qualified for the 800m final after winning his heat in 1:50.09.
Teammates Ashraf Osman and Hussein Ibrahim were unable to qualify for the 400m final. In men’s shot put, Ahmed
Jibril finished fourth with a throw of 18.51m. The Qatar men’s 3x3 basketball team also qualified for the semi-finals after topping Group B, beating Turkiye 21–20 and losing to Iran 15–16.
They will face Egypt, who finished second in Group A, on Wednesday.
In the women’s competition, the Qatari team concluded their participation after suffering two defeats against Iran and Egypt in the final round of the first stage
