The national weightlifting team earned 19 medals in the Arab Championship and the Qatar Cup, which were held in Doha as a double event for both seniors and juniors and concluded yesterday. Among these medals, 6 were gold, with Ali Nasser Al-Hamiri winning them in the 102 kg weight category for youth and juniors at the Arab Championship. He secured first place in snatch, clean and jerk, and total in both categories.
For the senior category, Moayed Al-Najjar won 6 medals (snatch, clean and jerk, and total), including 3 silver medals in the Arab Championship and 3 bronze medals in the Qatar Cup. The last day of the competition featured the heavyweight category (over 109 kg), which marked the conclusion of the event.
The women’s team won 4 bronze medals, including one by Mai Al-Madani (total) in the 64 kg weight class, and 3 medals by Bashayer Al-Ahbabi in the 55 kg category, winning in snatch, clean and jerk, and total. Additionally, 3 bronze medals were won by Thayan Omar Al-Hamoudi in the 49 kg weight class for juniors, after topping the snatch, clean and jerk, and total in his category.
The team also received 4 cups for fifth place in the women’s category, fifth in the youth category, and sixth in the juniors at the Arab Championship, in addition to the fifth-place cup for women in the Qatar Cup.
The team returned to the country today, Tuesday, with a delegation headed by Mohamed Khamees Al-Naqbi, the executive director of the Weightlifting Federation, and including Khalifa Rashid Al-Zaabi, Director of Support Services at the Abu Dhabi Club, Abdulrahman Mohammed Abdulrahman, the team coach, Maher Al-Qurbi, the club coach, and his assistant Mohamed Fathi. The team consisted of 9 players, 7 of whom were from the Abu Dhabi Weightlifting Club: Moayed Al-Najjar (over 109 kg, men), Zayed Al-Naimi (55 kg, youth), and juniors Thayan Omar Al-Hamoudi (49 kg), Zayed Al-Amri (55 kg), Said Qasab (81 kg), Ali Nasser Al-Hamiri (102 kg), and Zahra Al-Hashimi (49 kg), as well as two athletes from the Weightlifting Federation, Bashayer Al-Ahbabi (55 kg) and Mai Al-Madani (64 kg).
The athletes expressed their happiness at reaching the podium, with Ali Nasser Al-Hamiri saying: “I am proud to win gold in my first ever competition. I thank the Abu Dhabi Club for discovering me and bringing me together with my colleagues from the Jurn Yafour School to the club, where we were provided with advanced training programs that prepared us for the Arab Championship. This is a great result for our first appearance in the Arab competitions for youth and juniors. I also thank the federation for including us in the team. This achievement motivates us to further refine our talents and aim for new successes at the continental and international levels in the near future.”
