Oman delegation gear up for Rio Games
MUSCAT: Ace athlete Barakat Al Harthy is all set to speahead Oman’s challenged in the Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, from August 5 to 21.
Oman Olympic Committee on Wednesday finalised the entire contingent, that will participate in the forthcoming Olympics.
To be recalled, Oman’s first participation in the Olympic Games dates back to 1984 in Los Angeles with 16 athletes.
In Rio, Oman will be present with four athletes, with Barakat Al Harthy the only genuine qualifier while the other three gaining wild card entries. Barakat had qualified in October 2015 during the World Military Games in South Korea.
Apart from Barakat, two shooters Hamad Al Khatri and Wadha Al Balushi will be part of action. Also gaining wild card was female athlete Mazool Al Alawi.
Oman went to 1988 Seoul Games with 13 athletes, while only five athletes participated in 1992 Barcelona Games.
Other representations were 1996 Atlanta (4 athletes), 2000 Sydney (6), 2004 Athens (2), 2008 Beijing (4) and 2012 London (4).
The official delegation will be headed by Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Zubair, the Chairman of Oman Olympic Committee, and the other officials accompanying are OOC general secretary Taha bin Sulaiman Al Kishri, Qadim bin Mohammed Al Balushi, Fahad bin Salim Al Zihaymi, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Shehabullah (physio) and selected persons from media.
Oman Olympic Committee hopes that the participating athletes attain good results on a highly competitive stage.
Oman Olympic Committee is also currently implementing medium and long term projects for preparing athletes for future Olympics in 2020 and 2024.