RIYADH: Team Saudi returned home to the Kingdom after collecting a record 24 medals at the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, Turkey, from Aug. 9-18.
They won two gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze medals. The previous record was 11 medals at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.
The competition saw the participation of 54 countries and 4,000 athletes.
The Saudi team placed 15th in the overall country standings, and its weightlifting athletes scooped 11 medals between them (one gold, six silver, and four bronze).
Athletics came second with five medals (four silver and one bronze), Karate with three medals (gold and two bronze), table tennis with two medals (one silver and one bronze), Paralympic swimming with one bronze medal, and finally a silver medal in the U23 football competition.
The Saudi weightlifting team won their first medals when Abdullah Al-Biladi delivered three bronzes on the opening day.
Siraj Al-Saleem delivered three silver medals in the 61kg event. On Thursday, Mansour Al-Saleem won gold in the 55kg event. Additional weightlifting medals came from Ali Al-Othman, who delivered a silver and a bronze.
Saudi track and field athlete Yousef Masrahi came second in the 400m race. His teammate Mazin Al-Yasin came third to secure the bronze in the same event.
Karate silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Tarek Hamdi, secured first place on the podium after defeating his Azerbaijani opponent Ismayilov Gurban to win gold.
Hamdi said: “I’m thankful for all the support we get from SOPC (Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee) president Prince Abdulaziz and his VP Prince Fahad and all the Saudi karate fans and people who believed in me. I dedicate this success to them, and hopefully, our next goal is (the) Riyadh Asian Games 2034, where we hope to meet you all.”
Saud Al-Bashir and Sultan Al-Zahrani brought the other two bronze medals in Karate.
At the closing ceremony, SOPC vice president Prince Fahd bin Jalawi and the head of the Saudi delegation congratulated all the medal winners.
He also extended his appreciation and thanks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Minister of Youth and Sports Dr. Muhammad Muharram Kasaboglu for successfully hosting the games.
