Qatar’s archers delivered an outstanding performance on the penultimate day of the 4th GCC Games – Doha 2026, claiming three gold medals while the karatekas added another gold as the hosts picked up a further 11 medals on Thursday strengthening the host nation’s dominance at the regional event.
With the latest victories, Qatar overall medals tally swelled to 133 - 48 gold, 49 silver, and 36 bronze, maintaining a comfortable lead at the top of the standings.
Saudi Arabia are in second place with a total of 79 medals, comprising 30 gold, 27 silver, and 22 bronze medals. Bahrain occupied third position with 62 medals - 24 gold, 22 silver, and 16 bronze medals.
The archery competitions at the Lusail Shooting Range concluded on Thursday with a spectacular finish as Qatar athletes continued their dominance of the podium securing six additional medals - three gold and three bronze - to raise their historic overall tally in shooting and archery to 26 medals.
The thrilling final rounds witnessed Qatar securing their first gold medal in archery in the compound mixed team event with Hamad al-Yafei and Aisha al-Saei delivering a highly accurate and composed show to finish ahead of UAE pair of Jumana al-Najjar and Shehab al-Saadi, who claimed silver, while Kuwait’s Hanan al-Mayas and Abdullah Mal Allah secured bronze.
Qatar also imposed their dominance in the recurve mixed team event, where Ahmed al-Sada and Reem al-Saei won gold after a dramatic final against Saudi Arabia’s Hessa al-Saree and Mansour al-Alawi, who claimed silver.
The UAE duo of Hessa al-Awadhi and Omar al-Ali secured bronze.
In the women’s recurve individual event, hosts’ Reem al-Saei claimed gold after another dominant performance, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Safana al-Ahmadi, who won silver, while Hessa al-Saree secured bronze.
In the men’s recurve event, UAE’s Omar al-Ali won gold, Saudi Arabia’s Mansour al-Alawi claimed silver, and Abdulrahman al-Mousa secured bronze.
The women’s compound individual event saw UAE’s Amna al-Awadhi claim gold ahead of compatriot Jumana al-Najjar, while Qatar’s Aisha al-Saei won bronze.
In the men’s Compound individual event, Saudi Arabia’s Bilal al-Awadhi won gold, Kuwait’s Abdullah Mal Allah secured silver, and the UAE’s Shehab al-Saadi claimed bronze.
Qatar’s success also extended to the team events, as the men’s compound team trio of Abdulaziz Al Abbadi, Hamad al-Yafei, and Omar Laram secured bronze behind Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Meanwhile, Qatar women’s recurve trio of Maha Abdulhai, Reem al-Saei, and Haya al-Hajri also claimed bronze, while Saudi Arabia won gold and the UAE secured silver.
Dr. Mishaal Ibrahim al-Nasr, President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSAA), and Jassim Shaheen al-Sulaiti, Secretary-General of the federation, alongside GCC sports officials and delegation representatives, crowned the winners.
Qatar also enjoyed success in karate competitions, securing five medals - one gold, three silver, and one bronze. Yaman Ashraf claimed gold for Qatar in the under-67kg category defeating Saudi Arabia’s Saad al-Saif 10-9 in the final, while the Saudi athlete claimed silver. The bronze medals went to the UAE’s Rashid al-Suraidi and Kuwait’s Mohammed al-Otaibi.
In the under-60kg category, Qatar’s Mustafa Abdulrahman won the silver medal, while Kuwait’s Ali al-Ajmi claimed gold. The bronze medals were awarded to Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Aryani and the UAE’s Ibrahim Bakhit.
In the under-84kg category, Qatar’s Abdullah Rashid secured silver, while Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed al-Malki won gold. The bronze medals went to the UAE’s Ali al-Ali and Kuwait’s Mohammed Hassan.
In the over-84kg category, Qatar’s Khalid Samir won silver, while Saudi Arabia’s Anas al-Zahrani secured gold. The bronze medals were claimed by the UAE’s Saif al-Qaidi and Kuwait’s Mohammed al-Majadi.
In the under-75kg category, Youssef Riyadh of Qatar secured bronze, alongside the UAE’s Ali Youssef, while Kuwait’s Omar al-Janai won gold and Saudi Arabia’s Ali Mejari claimed silver.
The medal ceremony was attended by Eid Ali al-Marikhi, President of the Qatar Taekwondo, Judo and Karate Federation, Rashid al-Hajri, Assistant Secretary-General of the federation, Abdullah Shaaban, Head of the Kuwaiti delegation, Abdulilah al-Shaya, Secretary-General of the Saudi Karate Federation, and Turki al-Bukhari, Board Member of the Saudi Federation.
With this exceptional achievement, Team Qatar shooting and archery extended its lead at the top of the overall standings with 26 medals - including 12 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze medals - ahead of Saudi Arabia in second place with 16 medals, followed by the UAE with 18 medals.
Kuwait finished fourth with 10 medals, Bahrain fifth with 12 medals, and Oman sixth with six medals.
Qatar’s handball team will face Saudi Arabia on Friday at the Duhail Sports Hall in a decisive encounter, with the silver medal at stake.
The Qatari side currently sits second in the standings with four points, collected from victories over the UAE (28-20) and Kuwait (34-19), alongside a defeat to Bahrain (24-19).
Saudi Arabia occupies third place, level with Qatar on four points but trailing on goal difference. The Saudi team recorded wins against the UAE (34-21) and Kuwait (25-23), while suffering a loss to Bahrain (36-25).
Meanwhile, Bahrain has already clinched the gold medal after defeating the UAE 31-20 to move to eight points at the top of the standings.
The UAE remains fourth with two points, while Kuwait is fifth without a point. The awards ceremony for the handball competition will be held on Friday, following the conclusion of the Qatar-Saudi Arabia match, which will also mark the end of the Games.
Qatar will be aiming to finish strongly and add another medal to its campaign, having won the gold medal in handball in the 2022 edition of the Games.