*Sheikh Jassim leads the nation in heroes' welcome to Olympic medallists
The red carpet was rolled out, the Qatari national anthem reverberated in
the air, and garlands and bouquets greeted the heroes as His Highness Sheikh Jassim
bin Hamad al-Thani welcomed the successful Team Qatar delegation, headed by
Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, on
their return from a spectacular trip to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Saturday.
Also present at the Doha International Airport to receive the delegation was HE the Minister of Culture and Sport Salah bin Ghanem al-Ali and other officials.
After Fares Ibrahim won the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal when he
smashed the Olympic record in weightlifting on July 31, the two-time world
high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim doubled the gold tally the next day,
adding a third Olympic medal to his cabinet.
Fares lifted 177kg in the snatch, before setting an Olympic record in the
clean and jerk lift with 225kg. It was one of two Olympic records he broke
on the night — along with a massive combined score of 402 that was too much
for any of his competitors on the day to even approach.
Barshim speaking
Barshim’s win also emerged as the symbol of sportsmanship around the world after he and his Italian rival and friend Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold after both were locked at 2.37m in the competition. “Can we have two golds?,” Barshim’s question to the referee, and the celebration thereafter by the two gold medallists won accolades around the world.
On Saturday, the beach volleyball team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan added a bronze medal to Qatar’s tally, the first time the country’s delegation has won so many medals.
“We congratulate His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. This glory is for all of Qatar and the people,” said Qatar Volleyball Association President Ali Ghanim al-Kuwari. “We are so proud of all the national teams. I think they did a great job. They have to be proud of themselves. We promise to sustain these performances in the future tournaments, the Asian Games, there is Paris 2024, but for now we have to celebrate now that we are back in the country."
"With 2 golds, and a bronze we are in the top 50 in the world,” Qatar Olympic Committee second vice-president and Qatar Athletics Federation president Dr Thani al-Kuwari said.
Qatar Olympic Committee secretary-general Jassim al-Buenain said: “I am very proud. You can see how the people of Qatar feel about the performances, and we really appreciate the welcome. We are really working hard to use this as a foundation for the future.”