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Shamari stuns defending champ Jin-sun of Korea in fencing
Tribune News Network
Jakarta
Wrestler Abdulrahman Ibrahim and fencer Mohammed al Shamari stood out with their telling performances for Qatar, though missing out on medals, on the opening day of the 2018 Asian Games on Sunday.
Abdulrahman came close to fetching the first medal for his country but lost out on a bronze losing to Kazakhstan's Kaisanov Daniyar in the men's freestyle 74kg bout at the Jakarta Convention Center Hall.
Abdulrahman was earlier edged in Repechage Round 2 of the same event 10-6 by Vietnamese Can Tat Du but he still qualified for the bronze medal clash.
Daniyar eventually went on to claim the silver medal. The gold was clinched by Abdurakhmonov Bekzod of Uzebekistan while Korea's Gong Byungmin and Japan's Fujinami Yuhi took the bronze medals.
Fencer Shamari created an upheaval when he stunned defending champion and Olympic medallist Jung Jin-sun of South Korea in the men's epee preliminary round at Jakarta Convention Center's Cendrawasih Hall.
However, the Qatari could not continue his dream run and lost to Vietnam's Nhat Nguyen Tien 7-15 in the Round of 32 and bowed out.
In Pool B, Shamari began with a convincing 5-1 victory over Pakistan's Nazar Abbas Bhatti. Then he suffered a 1-5 defeat at the hands of Uzbek Fayzulla Alimov. He improved his record to 2-1, beating Malaysian Mohamad Roslan Mohamed. After getting a walk-over from Kuwaiti Abdulaziz Alshatti, he had holder and thrice team champion Jung in the fourth bout.
With a razor-sharp performance, Shamari pulled off an overtime 5-4 victory over the Korean, who was individual bronze medallist at the London Games in 2012, besides helping his team clinch the silver medal at the 2014 and 2018 world championships.
Shamari's fifth-round match-up was against Chinese Minghao Lan, the winner of the 2018 Asian team championship gold medal. He lost the match to his rival but qualified for the second stage before his run was ended by Tien.
Qatar's second fencer Mohamed Mirzaei could not perform at the level of teammate Shamari and his challenge came to an end at the group stage as he suffered defeat in all his five bouts.
In shooting, the mixed events did not go well for Qatar but the trap shooters will continue their challenge on Monday in the second round. Amna al Abdulla and Kholoud al Khalaf was holding the 12th spot after shooting 67 out of 75 in the women's event. Khalaf hit 65 to be in the 17th place in the standings, led by Kazakhstan's Mariya Dmitriyenko, who fired an impressive 74 in 75.
In the men's section, Mohammed Ahmed al Rumaihi was also in the 12th place with a round of 70. Mohammed Ali Khejaim was sixth spots below than him after collecting 68 out of 75 on the first day. India's former world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu leads the table with 72 out of 75 along with Pakistan's Aamir Iqbal.
Al Dana al Mubarak and Osama Abdelnasser al Shaiba managed a 17th place in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team with 745 aggregate, while Matara Fahad al Aseiri and Ahmad Mohsen al Ali shot together 800.7 and finished 21 in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team. Both pairs could not advance.
Tala Abujbara stayed in the Women's Single Sculls, getting a birth in the Repechages. In the first heat, she clocked 9:28.28 which placed her overall sixth.
"The race was okay, there was a very strong wind and the conditions were very challenging. I had some technical issues. This was not my best race so I can hope to perform better in the next race on Tuesday. I am very happy to be at the Asian Games to represent my country. Also, to be the first Qatari woman to participate in rowing is also an honour."
In the men's beach volleyball, the return of Tamer Abdelrasoul to the international circuit was not memorable. Playing with a new partner Mahdi Sammoud, he lost the opening pool match to Thailand's Surin Jongklang and Adisorn Khaolumtarn 17-21, 16-21.
Abdelrasoul and Abdelaziz Khallouf used to play together. They won several podiums in the regional and continental tour events before the former suffered a leg injury. However, Abdelrasoul and Sammoud still have two more matches to play and stage their comeback.
On Monday, Qatar's rising stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, twice bronze medallist on the FIVB Beach World Tour, will launch their campaign for the gold medal in the Pool B.
The men's tennis saw an early end to Qatar's challenge with Mubarak Zayid and Jabor al Mutawa losing their singles and doubles matches. Zayid was beaten by Thai Palaphoom Kovapitukted 3-6, 4-6, while Mutawa went down to Hong Kit Wong of Hong Kong, China 3-6, 3-6. They figured in the doubles as well and lost to Filipino pair of Francis Casey Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon 4-6, 2-6.
In taekwondo, Huda Akbar was beaten by Malaysian Khim Wen Yap 6.950 to 7.870.
In swimming, Qatar's Abdulaziz al Obaidly clocked 1:02.28secs in the men's 100m backstroke heats, while Hassan al Obaidan finished in 1:08.62.
In football, Qatar suffered a reversal losing 0-1 to Bangladesh.
Day 2: Qatar’s competition schedule
Event Doha Time Discipline Athlete/match
Handball 12:00hrs Men’s handball Qatar vs Iraq
Volleyball 15:00 Men’s indoor volleyball Qatar vs Maldives
Swimming 05:00 50m backstroke Noah al Khulaifi + Abdelaziz al Obaidly
Swimming 05:00 200m freestyle Abdelrahman Mohammed
Fencing 07:00 Sabre Ahmed Juma + Nasr Al Saadi
Paragliding 03:00 Team+individual Ali al Yafei + Abdellatif al Qahtani
Gymnastics 11:00 Artistic Gymnastics Ahmed al Dayani + Ahmed Nabil
Volleyball 06:40 Beach volleyball Qatar vs Kazakhstan
Volleyball 11:40 Beach Volleyball Qatar vs Maldives
Shooting 04:30 Men’s Air rifle 10m Ahmed al Ali & Ali al Mohanadi
Shooting 05:00 Men’s individual trap Mohd al Rumaihi & Mohamed Khajeem
Shooting 05:00 Women’s individual trap Khulood al Khalaf & Amna al Abdulla
Shooting 06:30 Women’s Air rifle 10m Matra al Asery
