Qatar’s Nadine Wohdan goes through her routine in the trampoline competition at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing yesterday. Wohdan missed a finals berth by a narrow margin of 1.470 points. (Picture: Mustafa Abu Mounes)
Agencies/Nanjing
It was a difficult day for Qatari athletes, who were in action at the second Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing yesterday.
Nadine Wohdan came very close to making it to the finals of women’s trampoline. So did shooter Abdullah Zain al-Sunaidi in the mixed international team event.
Swimmer Waleed Daloul was third in one of five heats of the men’s 50m breaststroke and could not advance to the semi-finals.
The Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium might have seen Wohdan qualify but she missed the cut by as close a margin as 1.470 points.
However, Wohdan had the distinction of being the first reserve for the finals, which was later won by China’s Zhu Xueying with 55.425 points. The silver medal was won by Japanese Rana Nakano, who totalled 52.370 and nudged Russian Maria Zakharchuk to the third spot.
Wohdan, in the first series, collected 39.180 points, which were a bit less and affected her overall result. Later, she returned an impressive tally of 47.790 but it fell just short and Mexican Karina Cantu Martinez managed to overtake her and enter the finals.
Wohdan said after the event: “I did my routines confidently and well in big global competition. I was on the verge of qualifying for the finals but narrowly failed to get past Mexican Karina Martinez.”
She added that the most promising gymnasts of the world are participating and their standard is much higher. “We are in the Olympics, and the gymnasts here have much higher competitive levels than I’m used to. But I tried my best.”
Wohdan admitted that she was a bit nervous at the beginning: “I felt some fear in the beginning, but I managed to overcome it and perform well.” She said she would now go to Portugal for a camp of two weeks in preparation for her participation in the World Cup of gymnastics which will be held in Lisbon.
Daloul 3rd in 50m breaststroke heat
Daloul had high hopes of doing better in the one-lap breaststroke race but he could not deliver as was being expected of him at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Natatorium.
Racing in the first heat, he was third with a time of 30.83 and even the heat winner, Meli Malani of Fiji, was not able to get a place in the semi-finals on the basis of timings. His heat winning time was 29.59, while the last qualifier for the semi-finals had a better time.
Sunaidi misses the mark in air rifle
Abdullah Zain al-Sunaidi was paired with Austrian Rebecca Koeck in the 10m air rifle mixed international teams event. Together they secured 807.7, which fetched them 17th place and cost them a spot in the round of 16.
In four series, Sunaidi shot 101.2. But two following rounds were below expectation as he got only 96.3 and 99.7. He finished the qualifying round with 100.3 to post a total of 397.5.
Qatar make it to handball semis
There was some good news for Qatar later in the day when the Asian champions made it to the semi-finals of men’s handball after Tunisia were thrashed 12-33 by Slovenia in their second and last group match. The defeat of the African team, which was their second in as many matches, ended their challenge and sent Qatar into the last four stage.
Qatar had beaten Tunisia in their opening match 26-23. With one win each under their belt, both Qatar and Slovenia will play today to decide who takes the top spot in Pool B.
In Pool A, Norway bounced back from their defeat by Egypt to down Brazil 33-31 and keep their hopes for a spot in the last four alive. Today, Brazil face Egypt and if Brazil lose again, both Egypt and Norway will move ahead.
Qatar will seek to end the group phase on a winning note as it will take them to the top of Pool B and give them a chance to meet most probably Norway, a weaker team compared to defending champions Egypt.
The return of strong defender Adson Bajric, who was red-carded against Tunisia, will certainly reinforce Qatar’s defence.
Qatar team manager Khalifa al-Teyseer was excited with his team’s entry into the final four stage. “It is nice to know that we’ve reached the semi-finals but our mission has not ended. We have to continue to work hard.
“We beat Tunisia yesterday to take a step forward. With Tunisia now out, we can go all out and take on Slovenia with an aim to topping the pool. We’re thinking about one match at a time and our preparations are on track for the last group match against Slovenia and hopefully, the outcome will be in our favour.
“We postponed our victory celebration after beating Tunisia as we realised that were tougher tasks ahead. The match against Slovenia will not be easy, we all know. But we’re well prepared for this match. I have full confidence in the abilities of my players and hopefully, things will fall in place the way we want.”
