Oman’s Barakat qualifies for 100m semifinals

Oman’s Barakat Al Harthi, left, looks at Mongolia’s Shijirbaatar Ganbold, Qatar’s Femi Seun Ogunode and Singapore’s Li Loong Calvin Kang during their men’s 100m qualifying heat at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon yesterday

Incheon: Sprint star Barakat Al Harthi provided the lone silver lining on an otherwise disappointing day for the Sultanate at the Asian Games on Saturday.

Barakat, the 100m bronze medallist at the Guangzhou Games four years ago, finished second in 100m Round 1 Heat 1 in time of 10.32 seconds.

The Omani ace's performance was good enough to clinch him a berth in the semifinals. Barakat will be running in the second semifinal today.

His compatriots Mohammed Obaid Al Hindi and Ahmed Mohammed Al Marjibi failed to qualify for the second round of the 400m competition.

In the Round 1 Heat 3, Mohammed Obaid finished fourth in a time of 47.96 seconds while Ahmed Al Marjibi clocked 48.88 seconds to finish at sixth in Heat 4.

The Omani girls too failed in their attempt to advance, with Shnoona Al Habsi (12.76 seconds) finishing seventh in the 100m Round 1 Heat 3 while Mazoon Al Alawi (12.73 seconds) finished at sixth in Heat 1.

In the golf competition, Azzan Al Rumhi carded one over 73 in the third round for a total of 213 on Saturday to occupy 17th place.

Teammates Ali Hameed (79, 240), Hamood Al Harthi (84, 260) and Ahmed Al Balushi (83, 263) are at 61, 71, 73 places respectively.

Their combined score of 712 after three rounds also helped Oman occupy the 16th place in the team event. The golf competition concludes today.

Meanwhile, Oman hockey team suffered a 0-8 loss against formidable Pakistan.

In shooting, Hamed Al Khatri and Mohammed Al Hattali finished in 17th and 39th positions in the 50m rifle 3 positions men's qualification.