?Representatives of Arab media attending the recently-concluded 10th Sports Arab Media Day celebration in Algiers, in Algeria, commended the achievements of Bahrain sport in the prosperous era of His Majesty the King.
High-ranking Arab media authorities also lauded the efforts of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee President, in leading Bahrain sport to excellence and progress.
Shaikh Nasser’s contributions helped Bahrain become the first Arab country at last summer’s Rio Olympic Games in Brazil, where Bahrain took one gold and one silver medal in athletics events.
President of Arab Journalists Federation Mohammed Jameel Abdulqader said Bahrain has become the pride for all Arabs after its remarkable impact at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Ruth Jebet took the women’s 3,000m steeplechase and Eunis Kirwa bagged the women’s marathon silver, adding to Jordan’s taekwondo silver medal.
Abdulqader said: “The Olympics represent the beset sporting excellence. Arabs failed to impress at this edition of the Olympics, but the Kingdom of Bahrain coming on top among Arab countries in spite of its relatively small area and population, is a great source of pride for all of us”.
On his part, Dubai Sports Channel deputy director Hasan Habib said the Kingdom of Bahrain did exceptionally well at the Rio Olympics winning two medals to prove to the whole world the abilities of its athletes.
“When H.H. Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa is in charge of sports in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and is undoubtedly a unique athlete who competes in a number of sports such as endurance races, triathlon and ironman, we should not question the outstanding reputation of Bahrain on the world sport map,” said Habib.
Yazid Mouaki Banani, Head of Sports at MBC Group, said the Kingdom of Bahrain has become an Arab role model in the field of sports, thanks to the recent development, which resulted in winning three Olympic Games medals since the 2012 London Olympics where middle distance runner Maryam Jamal clinched the women’s 1,500m silver medal, then at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
“I have a good relationship with Algerian coach Nooruddin Tajin, who was at helm of Bahrain’s athletics team at a certain stage and was confident to see a prominent future for the Bahraini athletes,” said Banani.
Another prominent media representative from Algeria Leila Smati, a well-known figure at MBC sports channel, said the kingdom of Bahrain topping the Arab medals chart at the 2016 Rio Olympics is no coincidence. It is a result of a long-term well planning by the Bahrain Olympic Committee in conjunction with all sports federations under its umbrella.
“What Bahrain has accomplished was a result of a well comprehensive management and not only the financial part, which paid off very well at the end and I am confident that a brighter future is awaiting Bahrain,” she said.
On his part, Egyptian Parliament Member, Youth and Sports Committee President, vice-president of the Arab Sport Press Association Radwan Al Zayati said Bahrain has become one of the leading Arab sports nations, and noted that its achievement at the Olympics is a result of the government support to sports in the country.
