Swimmers strike five more golds as hosts Qatar go top at GCC Games

Doha, Qatar: Qatar swimmers enjoyed another golden day at the Hamad Aquatic Centre, clinching five more gold medals with record-breaking performances as hosts Qatar leapt to the top of the 4th GCC Games Doha 2026 standings.

Qatar’s 3×3 men’s basketball, showjumping and fencing teams added three more gold medals as the home contingent wrapped up the second day with a total of 29 medals, including 11 gold, 10 silver and eight bronze medals.

Saudi Arabia slipped to second with nine gold, eight silver and four bronze medals, while Bahrain followed with three gold, five silver and three bronze. biznow.biz

After bagging three gold and two silver medals on the opening day, Qatar made a clean sweep in yesterday’s events.

Saadeddin, who won the 800m freestyle on Tuesday, opened the day by securing gold in the men’s 400m freestyle with a Games record time of 3:50.80 seconds. It was a Qatari one-two finish, as Emile Fouzai took silver in 3:56.05, with Bahrain’s Robert Bonsall winning bronze in 3:57.97.

Mohamed Mahmoud reigned supreme in the men’s 50m breaststroke, claiming gold in 28.38 seconds - another Games record. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alotaibi (29.32) finished second for silver, with Qatar’s Hamza Shalan (29.53) earning bronze.

In the men’s 100m freestyle, Ali Tamer Hassan set a new Games record of 49.78 seconds to win gold. Emad Addin Zaben (50.58) of Saudi Arabia secured silver, while the UAE’s Hussein Abdelsalam (51.84) took bronze.

Abdalla Elghamry sparkled in the men’s 200m backstroke, winning gold in 2:05.91 to set another Games record. He won comfortably ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alessa, who took silver in 2:07.88, while Kuwait’s Abdullah Sultan settled for bronze in 2:12.23.

“I am surprised with my time. It was a tough contest and the other competitors brought the best out of me. Ali Alessa was really impressive. I loved the crowd which was special,” said Elghamry.

Qatar capped a successful day in the pool by clinching the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay gold, finishing ahead of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Members of the gold-winning Qatar men’s 3×3 basketball team celebrate on the podium with Qatar’s women’s 3×3 basketball team who won the bronze.

Qatar excel in 3×3 basketball

At Al Gharafa Hall, Qatar’s men’s 3×3 basketball team beat Bahrain 20-11 in the gold medal match.

Their campaign featured group-stage victories over the UAE (22-9), Bahrain (21-15), Kuwait (21-7) and Saudi Arabia (19-12), before defeating Saudi Arabia again 21-11 in the semi-finals.

Saudi Arabia later claimed bronze with a 13-9 win over the UAE.

Qatar’s women’s 3×3 basketball team secured bronze, beating Kuwait 11–9 in the playoff.

“Winning the men’s gold and women’s bronze at Doha 2026 is a historic achievement that reflects the progress of Qatari basketball at the national team level,” said Qatar Basketball Federation President Mohammed bin Saad Al-Mughaseeb.

“The women’s bronze is particularly significant as it marks our first medal in Gulf Games history, highlighting the success of our development programmes and the growing base of the sport.”

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Team showjumping, fencing golds for Qatar

At the Qatar Equestrian Federation indoor Arena, Qatar clinched team showjumping gold with a combined time of 206.37 seconds despite four penalties. Team UAE took silver in 208.89 seconds with eight penalties, while Kuwait secured bronze in 209.44 seconds after collecting 12 penalties.

At the Aspire Dome, Qatar secured gold and silver in the men’s foil event, with Ali Owaida overcoming compatriot Khaled Hussein in the final. The UAE’s Faris Alblooshi claimed bronze.

Qatar's Ali Al-Obaidali claimed the silver medal in the men’s 10-ball singles.

Al-Obaidali seals silver; strong show in taekwondo

Qatari cueist Ali Al-Obaidali claimed silver in the men’s 10-ball singles after a 5-7 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Baabad in the final at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation Hall.

Al-Obaidali had earlier outclassed UAE’s Mahmoud Charif 7–2 in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the Qatar taekwondo team added two silver and three bronze medals at the Aspire Dome.

Ali Alarimi won silver in the men’s +80kg category after losing to Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alkhaibari 2–0 in the final.

Qatar’s Maram Fatnassi also claimed silver after being edged 2–1 by UAE’s Amna Alloghani in the women’s -67kg final.

In the women’s +67kg category, Qatar’s Noor Mohammed settled for bronze, with Saudi Arabia’s Dunya Saber winning gold and UAE’s Salma Alketbi taking silver.

Qatar’s Mohammad Awadalla claimed bronze in the men’s -68kg category, while Njoud Al Fahad added another bronze in the women’s -57kg category.

Bowling and table tennis medals

Qatar’s bowling duo of Talal Al-Marri and Bader Al-Sada secured silver in the doubles event, finishing second overall with 2,481 points from six games. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Sultan Al Saud and Abdulmajid Al-Aslani took gold with 2,652 points, while Kuwait’s Mustafa Al-Mousawi and Faisal Salim claimed bronze with 2,467 points.

In table tennis, Qatar added bronze in the team competition, finishing third on four points after a 3–0 win over Oman and 3–1 defeats to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia won gold with six points, Bahrain took silver with five, and Oman finished fourth with three.

توج سعادة الشيخ جوعان بن حمد آل ثاني، رئيس المجلس الأولمبي الآسيوي، رئيس اللجنة الأولمبية القطرية، رئيس اللجنة المنظمة لدورة الألعاب الخليجية الرابعة - أصحاب المراكز الثلاثة الأولى في منافسات قفز حواجز الفروسية للفرق، والتي اقيمت امس بالميدان الداخلي للاتحاد القطري للفروسية وسط منافسة قوية.
وحقق منتخبنا الوطني المكون من الفرسان، فالح سويد العجمي، سلمان محمد العمادي، خالد محمد العمادي، وباسم محمد انجازًا كبيرًا بعد الفوز بالميدالية الذهبية، بعد أن تصدر المنافسات التي اقيمت على ارتفاع 145 سم، من جولتين، مع جولة تمايز، متفوقا على المنتخب الاماراتي الذي حصد الميدالية الفضية مع الفرسان محمد أحمد العويس، عبدالله حميد المهيري، سعيد محمد المعزمي، والشيخ علي جاسم النعيمي، فيما حصد المنتخب الكويتي الميدالية البرونزية بعد أن حل ثالثا مع الفرسان يارا الهنيدي، عنّاز العنّاز، حسين الخرافي، وعلي الخرافي.ورفع الادعم رصيده من الميداليات الى 29 ميدالية متنوعة واحتل الصدارة.

بدر الدرويش: إنجاز جديد
أكد السيد بدر بن محمد الدرويش رئيس الاتحاد القطري للفروسية، أن تتويج منتخبنا للفروسية بالميدالية الذهبية في دورة الألعاب الخليجية يمثل إنجازاً جديداً يضاف إلى سجل الرياضة القطرية، ويعكس المستوى المتميز الذي وصل إليه فرسان الأدعم بفضل الدعم الكبير والاهتمام المتواصل برياضة الفروسية في دولة قطر.
وقال الدرويش: «نحن فخورون بما قدمه فرسان المنتخب من أداء قوي وروح تنافسية عالية خلال منافسات البطولة، حيث أكدوا قدرتهم على تمثيل قطر بأفضل صورة وتحقيق الإنجازات في المحافل الخليجية، هذه الميدالية الذهبية جاءت ثمرة العمل الجماعي والتخطيط الفني والإعداد الجيد خلال الفترة الماضية».

باسم محمد: شعور لا يوصف
أعرب الفارس باسم محمد عن سعادته الكبيرة بالتتويج بالميدالية الذهبية ضمن منافسات الفروسية في دورة الألعاب الخليجية، مؤكداً أن الإنجاز جاء بعد جهد كبير وعمل متواصل من جميع أعضاء المنتخب.
وقال: شعوري لا يوصف بعد الفوز بالميدالية الذهبية، والحمد لله تعبنا لم يذهب سدى، ونجحنا في تقديم ميدالية ذهبية لدولة قطر في هذا المحفل الخليجي بعد منافسات قوية وصعبة كانت متقاربة للغاية بين جميع المنتخبات المشاركة.

فالح العجمي: فخور للغاية
قال الفارس فالح سويد العجمي إن التتويج بالميدالية الذهبية في دورة الألعاب الخليجية يعد ثمرة للجهود الكبيرة التي بذلها فرسان المنتخب خلال الفترة الماضية، معرباً عن فخره بالمساهمة في تحقيق هذا الإنجاز للرياضة القطرية.
وقال «الحمد لله على هذا الإنجاز الكبير، نجحنا في تحقيق الهدف وإهداء قطر الميدالية الذهبية بعد منافسات قوية اتسمت بالندية والتقارب في المستويات بين جميع الفرسان المشاركين».
وأضاف: «دخلنا المنافسات بروح جماعية وتركيز عالٍ، وكان الجميع على قدر المسؤولية، وهو ما ساعدنا على تحقيق هذا التتويج المستحق، نهدي هذه الميدالية إلى قيادتنا الرشيدة والجماهير القطرية وكل من دعم المنتخب خلال البطولة».

New Delhi: Virat Kohli said his love of cricket keeps him going but admitted his career "is going to finish one day" after ending a mini slump in form with a match-winning IPL century.

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Regarded as one of the most accomplished batsmen of his generation, the 37-year-old Kohli is a hero to hundreds of millions of Indian fans.

"Cricket is absolutely something that I truly love," he said. "I just give my heart and soul out there on the field, whether I'm fielding or batting, because it's going to finish one day."

Kohli bounced back from two consecutive ducks to hit an unbeaten 105 and lead defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a crucial win on Wednesday.

He scored his ninth hundred in the Indian Premier League -- but first this season -- as Bengaluru chased down 193 with five balls to spare against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Kohli also became the fastest player to 14,000 runs in T20 cricket.

He achieved the feat in 409 innings, bettering Chris Gayle's 423.

Kohli, who has retired from Tests and T20 internationals, guided Bengaluru to their maiden title on the 18th attempt last year.

"I just love batting, even after all this. That is my core feeling," Kohli said on Wednesday after being named player of the match.

"What an honour to be playing at this level, what an honour to be competing with the very best in the world still," he added.

"This is all I've done, all my life."

Kohli is third on the batting charts in this IPL season with 484 runs including three fifties and one ton, at an average of 53.77 in 12 matches.

'Joy still there'

Kohli's 60-ball knock was laced with 11 fours and three sixes, as he equalled Jos Buttler's record of three IPL centuries in successful chases.

Called "King Kohli" for his prolific run-scoring, the opener got off the mark with a single in the first over of the chase, punching the air in mock celebration after his successive ducks.

He raised his fifty in 32 balls, and then his first hundred of the season.

"I want to make the most of every day that I'm on the field, and just enjoy myself, and have a lot of fun," he said.

Kohli said he enjoys being tested.

"I look forward to a pressure situation, look forward to scenarios where I'm feeling a bit of heat," he said.

"Then I challenge myself to say, 'you know what, just go for it'", he added.

"And, when you cross the line, it makes you a better player. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the bat. And that joy is still there."

The number India 18 jersey worn by Kohli is by far the most popular piece of merchandise worn around grounds across the country.

He ended his T20 career with a match-winning innings in the 2024 World Cup final victory in Barbados.

Doha, Qatar: President of the Olympic Council of Asia and Qatar Olympic Committee H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, also the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 4th GCC Games, crowned the podium winners as hosts Qatar dominated the team showjumping competition to clinch gold at Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Indoor Arena.

The quartet of Faleh Suwaid Al-Ajmi, Salman Mohammed Al-Emadi, Khalid Mohammed Al-Emadi and Bassem Mohammed yesterday excelled in the 145cm event, which featured two rounds and a jump-off, to secure the top podium place.

The United Arab Emirates team took silver, while Kuwait settled for bronze in third place after a competitive contest featuring strong regional line-ups.

QEF President Badr bin Mohammed Al-Darwish hailed the gold medal as a significant milestone for Qatari equestrian sport, crediting the result to sustained preparation, teamwork and strong technical planning.

He added that the achievement reflects the continued support for equestrian development in Qatar and the growing competitiveness of national riders on the regional stage.