(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Exhibiting fighting skills under pressure, hosts Qatar finished a close second in the final medal standings of the GCC Beach Games, which drew to a close yesterday after a week of intense competition in 13 events across eight sporting disciplines.
With altogether six medals - four gold, one silver and one bronze - impressive Qatar were just behind Oman, which finished with a total of 12 medals - seven gold, four silver and one bronze.
The UAE were third on the table with 10 medals - one gold, three silver and six bronze.
At the closing ceremony of the games yesterday, the Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and President of the Organising Committee, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, awarded Qatar the gold medal in the 3x3 Basketball event while the UAE won the silver medal and Kuwait claimed bronze.
In a stunning final that brought the crowd to their feet Qatar beat UAE 21-14, ending the 2nd GCC Beach Games on a high.
Qatar's handball team had an undefeated run in the games, demolishing the competition to win a gold medal on Monday after defeating Bahrain in a final that was played in an electrifying atmosphere to the drums of Qatari fans. The Omani handball team took the silver medal while Bahrain settled for the bronze.
Team Qatar's volleyball team was also victorious in the games, winning both sets of the final match and defeating the Omani team 2-0. Qatar's volleyball team took home the gold medal while Oman's team B and A took silver and bronze respectively.
Speaking after the final medals ceremony, Sheikh Saoud said: "We are honoured to have hosted the 2nd GCC Beach Games and we are confident that this edition has set a new standard for the hosting of future GCC Beach Games and raised the profile of beach sports across the whole of the GCC. We are very proud of the performance of all our athletes and we hope that the high-level of competition has inspired young people across our nation and our region and fostered their passion for sport."
Meanwhile, Oman took home the gold medal after an intense run in the football competition with the UAE, who took the silver medal. Kuwait won the bronze. The football competition was especially close, with the UAE and Oman a mere point away from each other throughout the games.
The sailing competitions, which were hosted in Katara Cultural Village along with Open Water Swimming, Rowing and Skydiving, saw Waleed Al Sharshani win the gold medal for Team Qatar in the Laser Standard Class, ahead of Bahrain, who took silver, and Oman, who claimed Bronze.
Not to be outdone, Bahrain's Jassim Showaiter pulled ahead of Qatar's Faris Al Bakri to win the gold medal in the Laser Radial Class, while the UAE's Saeed Al Zaidi settled for bronze.
As for the Laser 4.7 Class event, Oman's Khamis Al Wahaibi took home gold while Saoud Al Naar won silver for Bahrain and the UAE's Hamza Al Ali secured the bronze medal.
The sailing action continued on Monday, with Zakaria Al Wahabi from Oman taking gold in the Optimist Class, ahead of the UAE's Abdullah Al Bishr and Oman's Marwan Al Jabri, who won the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The Open Water Swimming events saw Oman's Mohamed Al Habasi decimate the competition in the 5km race with a time of 1.01.22.88, ahead of his countryman Muslim Al Khoudori, who won silver, and the UAE's Abdullah Al Boloushi, who took home the bronze.
In the 10km race, Oman's Al Habasi continued to best his opponents and clocked in a time of 1:59:43.77 taking home the gold medal, leaving his countryman Al Khoudori once again in second place and Yousuf Al Askari trailing in the third position.
The GCC Beach Games is exemplary of the Gulf Cooperation Council's commitment to sport in general, and beach games in particular, which have recently grown to become a major focus for international sport.
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