Othman qualifies for 400m semis at Summer Universiade
TAIWAN: Oman’s Othman Al Busaidi qualified for the 400m semifinals at the ongoing Summer Universiade in Taiwan.
Taking part in the 400m first round Heat 7, Othman finished second to book his place in Thursday’s semifinals.
Othman, a student of the Gulf College, clocked 47.05 seconds and in the process achieved his best time of the season.
The heat was won by South Africa’s Zakithi Busani Nene who timed 46.97 seconds.
Usama Al Gheilani, another Omani taking part in the 400m, failed to advance from the heat.
Usama, who is a student of Higher College of Technology, finished fifth in Heat 6 after completing the race in 50.04 seconds.
Mixed results
Meanwhile, in the other disciplines the Omanis had mixed results. In the table tennis team competition, the Omani squad ex- ited in the group stage after losing their matches to Japan, Greece and the U.S. The Sultanate squad comprised Nasser Al Balushi, Al Khalil Al Rashidi, Saif Al Kharusi and Haitham Al Mandhari. The Omani paddlers, however, will be seen in action in the individual competitions in the coming days.
In the swimming competitions, Naif Al Qasmi and Mohammed Al Balushi did their best in the 100m freestyle but failed to move up.
Naif in fact finished second in Heat 1 in a time of 57.26 behind Jeffery Galea (57.03) of Malta while Mohammed Al Balushi timed 1:00.86 to finish ed fifth in the same heat.
In taekwondo competitions too the Omanis failed to post positive results. In the 58kg category, Haitham Al Numani lost to Indonesia’s Adam Yazid. In the 80kg contest, Rashid Al Tobi was beaten by Iran’s Amir Hussein.
The 29th Summer Universiade runs till August 30.