Adil Al Balushi

Paris, July 30:

Omani shooter Said al Khatri and swimmer Issa al Adawi concluded their Paris Olympics campaign on Tuesday. While Al Adawi was sixth in the preliminary heat two of the 100m freestyle event with a timing of 53.19sec, shooter Al Khatri finished the preliminary qualification of the men’s trap event in 30th place with 114 points.

The 25-year-old Al Adawi was looking to break his personal best of 51.69ses but it was a disappointing effort as he could not even match his Olympics debut show in Tokyo 2020 where he clocked 51.81sec.

“My goal was to register a better show in my second Olympics presence but it did not happen. However, I will continue to work hard to improve myself, learn from the experience and gain maximum technical outcomes from this significant event,” said Al Adawi.

Competing against the world’s best swimmers with big experience, the huge crowd and energy at the main venue. This will provide invaluable experience for my future assignments I am still looking forward to delivering my best in the upcoming events,” Al Adawi said.

The finals for the 100m freestyle will take place on Thursday to determine the top three positions and medallists of gold, silver and bronze.

Positive outing for Al Khatri

Despite his position, the shooter Al Khatri made a positive presence on his Olympic debut in Paris. Al Khatri finished in 30th place with 114 points in the preliminary qualifications of the men’s trap event. The Oman national team shooter completed the second day of the qualification with fourth and fifth round qualifiers at the main range of the Châteauroux Shooting Center on Tuesday. He suffered in the fourth round as he scored 21 out of 25 points while he managed to earn 23 out of 25 points in the fifth and final round.

Chinese shooter Qi Ying and British shooter Nathan Hales each scored 123 points to advance from the qualifiers along with Australian shooter James Willett with the same score. The top six shooters advanced to the finals where the gold, silver and bronze medalists will be determined in the coming days.

Athletics team gears up

Sprinter Ali Anwar al Balushi and runner Mazoon Khalfan al Alawi are still benefiting from their off days and are having intensive training sessions ahead of their competitions on Friday and Saturday.

Mazoon will begin her third Olympics campaign in the preliminary heats of the 100m event on Friday while Ali al Balushi, who qualified with his record, will participate on Saturday in the same category.

Both athletes will look to deliver an outstanding performance to represent Oman positively and honourably in the prestigious event and will strive to set new personal times and achieve advanced results.