21/09/2023
21/09/2023

HANGZHOU, Sept 21: The Kuwaiti Olympic team maintained their hopes of advancing to the second round with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Bahrain in a match played yesterday at JinHua Stadium, part of the 2023 Asian Games Group F. After suffering a severe 0-9 defeat in their opening match against South Korea, the Kuwaiti team rebounded and secured their first point in the group. They now face a crucial final round match against Thailand on Sunday, where a victory is needed to secure their place in the second round.
Portuguese coach Emílio Peixe made several strategic changes to the squad that faced South Korea. The starting lineup for this match featured Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, Mohsen Fallah, Abdulaziz Naji, Abdulrahman Al-Dehaini, Faisal Al-Shatti, Fahd Al-Fadhli, Osman Al-Dosari, Fahd Al-Azmi, Hamad Al-Tuwail, Fahd Al-Harbi and Talal Al-Qaisi.
The Kuwaiti players displayed strong determination and resolve throughout the game, exhibiting good organization and repeatedly threatening the opponent’s goal. However, their efforts did not result in goals. Unfortunately, Kuwait faced two setbacks within the first thirty minutes of the match. In the 15th minute, Abdulaziz Naji was substituted due to an injury, with Youssef Al-Haqqan replacing him. Then, in the 31st minute, Talal Al-Qaisi also had to leave the field due to an injury, and Salman Al-Awadi took his place. The first half ended with a goalless draw.
Before the start of the second half, the Kuwaiti coaching staff made two substitutions, with Bandar Al-Salama and Sultan Al-Faraj replacing Fahd Al-Azmi and Fahd Al-Harbi, aiming to strengthen the team and apply more pressure on the opponent in their quest for a crucial victory. However, the match didn’t go entirely as planned for the coaching staff and players.
In the 53rd minute, Ali Hassan scored the opening goal for Bahrain. Coach Peixe responded by substituting Osman Al-Dosari with Mohammed Al-Rashid. As the game progressed, Kuwait gradually gained control and launched attacks on Bahrain’s goal. In the 74th minute, Salman Al-Awadi scored the equalizing goal from a set-piece situation. Abdulrahman Al-Dehaini came close to securing all three points for Kuwait, but his header narrowly missed the right post in injury time. The final minutes of the match witnessed some confrontations between players due to aggressive tackles by Bahraini players, resulting in a red card for Bahrain’s substitute Ali Nemer.
Meanwhile, a flag-raising ceremony took place at the Sports Village in Hangzhou, China, where the 19th Asian Games will kick off on September 23 and run until October 8. Among the attendees were Sheikh Jaber Thamer Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a member of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, Fatma Hayat, the head of the Kuwaiti delegation, and Assistant Secretary- General Captain Ali Al-Marry, along with several Kuwaiti athletes participating in the games. Sheikh Jaber Thamer Al-Sabah stated in a press release that hoisting the Kuwaiti flag signifies the official start of Kuwait’s participation in the 19th Asian Games. He expressed confidence in all Kuwaiti athletes, emphasizing their responsibility to compete and represent themselves with distinction.
He also praised the efforts of the administrative, coaching, and athlete teams. Fatma Hayat, head of the Kuwaiti delegation, mentioned that the flag raising ceremony saw the participation of 40 athletes and was attended by the mayor of Hangzhou village, along with a member of the championship’s organizing committee. She added that our national teams began their daily training on Thursday, following a rest day for the delegation upon their arrival at the sports village in Hangzhou. The organizing committee has scheduled training sessions throughout the duration of the games. Our national fencing team commenced their training sessions at 5:00 PM at the Hangzhou Dianzi University sports hall, under the guidance of their Italian coach Luigi Taratello.
The team includes Ali Abbas, Mohammed Abdul Kareem, Ali Al-Nakas, Abdulrahman Al-Mane, Ali Rustom, Youssef Al-Shamlan, and Abdulaziz Al-Shatti. They are supervised by the President of the Fencing Federation, Abdul Kareem Al-Shamlan, and Assistant Secretary Hamad Al-Awadi. At 2:00 PM, our national handball team began their training sessions at the Gymnasium Sports Center (GSC) at Zhejiang Gongshang University. The team comprises Saif Al-Adwani, Saleh Ali, Fawaz Al-Musharrekh, Fawaz Al-Mulla, Abdulwahab Al-Muzain, Abdulaziz Al-Shammari, Mohamed Bouyabes, Heidar Dashti, Fawaz Mohammed, and Fawaz Mubarak, along with Youssef Najim, Mohamed Reza, Fawaz Saadoun, and Hassan Saqr.
The shooting team will commence training in Skeet and Rifle Shooting at the Fu Yang shooting range and hall. The team includes Abdullah Al-Tarqi, Mansour Al-Rashidi, Saud Al-Sabai, Turki Al-Shammari, Hamad Al-Nimshan, Ali Al-Mutairi, Khalid Al-Majed, Fatma Al-Zaabi, and Khalid Al-Mudhaf, under the guidance of Italian coaches Edoardo Lazzarini and Mirco Cenci and Jacob Malik (massage therapist). The national judo team, including Mishaal Al-Ali and Saud Al-Umairi, will begin their training sessions at the Xiao Shan Linbo Sports Training Center at 10:00 AM, supervised by head coach Ali Al-Marshad.
Our boxing champions will start their training at 10:00 AM at Zhejiang University of Technology’s sports training facility. The team includes Noura Al-Mutairi, Turki Abu Qazinah, Mansour Khalifa, Ali Tahir, and Mohamed Al-Hamrani. Swimmers Walid Abdul Razzaq and Saud Al-Shamroukh will have specialized training sessions in the evening at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center’s aquatic sports hall. Meanwhile, Taekwondo athletes Ali Al-Marshad and Bandar Al-Anzi will conduct their training sessions at 1:00 PM in Hangzhou Olympic Sports Training Center, under the supervision of head coach Ali Al-Marshad. Our national squash team, consisting of Abdullah Al-Muzain, Ali Al-Ramzi, Ammar Al-Tamimi, and Falah Mohammed, will train at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Training Center’s squash stadium. Egyptian coaches Ahmed El Sayed El Fadl and Ahmad El Sayed El Fadl will oversee the training. It’s worth noting that Kuwait has achieved a total of 76 diverse medals since its participation in the Asian Games since 1982. Kuwaiti athletes have secured 24 gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 30 bronze medals. The 13th Asian Games in Bangkok is considered one of the most successful, with Kuwait winning 14 diverse medals.