Oman's relay team qualifies for the Asian Games final

Aichi: Oman’s national relay team qualified for the final of the men’s 4x100m race after clocking 38.99 seconds at the 20th Asian Games.

The Omani team, comprising Ali Al Balushi, Mulham Al Balushi, Rashid Al Asmi and Mohammed Al Saadi, secured their place in the final with a strong performance in the qualifying round.

Meanwhile, Omani sprinter Ali Al Balushi finished fourth in the men’s 200m final, recording 20.72 seconds at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Aichi Prefecture.

Thailand’s Purripol Ponsun won the gold medal in 19.88 seconds, while China’s Yu Wen Huang took silver in 20.45 seconds. Japan’s Soichi Mizukobu secured the bronze medal.

Al Balushi’s fourth-place finish came two days after he claimed silver in the 100m, becoming the first Omani athlete to win a medal in the event at the Asian Games.

He reached the 200m final after finishing second in his semifinal heat with a time of 20.42 seconds, matching the time of heat winner Yu Wen Huang. Al Balushi had clocked 21.41 seconds in the preliminary round.

In beach volleyball, Oman’s team “A”, represented by Hood Al-Jalboubi and Mazen Al-Hashemi, lost 2-0 to Qatar’s Sharif Samba and Ahmed Janko in a competitive group-stage match.

The Omani pair took an early two-point lead in the opening set before Qatar recovered to win 21-19. The second set followed a similar pattern, with the Qatari pair again edging Oman 21-19.

Despite the defeat, Oman finished the group stage in second place after securing victory over the Philippines in its opening match and had already booked its place in the Round of 16.

Oman will face Indonesia in the Round of 16 at 11:00 am Japan time, corresponding to 6:00 am Oman time.