The UAE national beach football team capped off their campaign at the 3rd GCC Beach Games with a resounding 5-1 victory over Kuwait, securing the silver medal on the final day of the tournament. Held in Muscat from April 5 to 11, the Games brought together 330 athletes from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with the UAE delegation fielding 77 athletes across all eight beach sports on the programme.
The UAE finished second in the overall medal table with a total of 23 medals: 8 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze. Host nation Oman topped the standings with 45 medals (20 gold, 18 silver, 7 bronze), while Saudi Arabia claimed third place with 18 medals (4 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze). Bahrain followed in fourth with 17 medals, ahead of Qatar (7 medals) and Kuwait (8 medals).
Sailing Leads Medal Haul
Sailing proved to be the UAE’s most successful sport, delivering 11 of the country’s 23 medals. Among the highlights was a gold in the Optimist team event and another gold in the K4 race by Marwa Al Hammadi. Al Yazia Al Hammadi took silver in the same event, while Dhooha Al Beshr (gold) and Kamilia Khalifa (bronze) reached the podium in the K6 category.
In junior sailing, Zayed Al Hosani captured gold in the Optimist category, with Khalifa Al Rumaithi winning gold in the overall classification. Othman Al Hammadi added another gold in the boys’ K6 race. Adel Khalid Al Bastaki earned silver in the youth K7 event, Mohammed Al Marzouqi secured silver in K4, and Madia Al Niyadi rounded out the sailing medal tally with bronze in the girls’ Optimist class.
Track and Field Adds Six Medals
The UAE athletics team brought home six medals: three silver and three bronze. Silver medals went to the men’s 4x relay team (Naseeb Salmeen, Mohammed Al Nubi Al Hammadi, Salem Al Baloushi, and Moaz Fawzi), the women’s 4x relay team (Fatima Al Baloushi, Mahra Abdulrahim, Fatima Khalil, and Jawaher Fareed), and Alia Yousif Al Hammadi in the women’s high jump.
Bronze medals were won by Abeer Ibrahim Al Baloushi in the women’s triple jump, Roqaya Al Marzouqi in the women’s mile race, and Salem Al Baloushi in the men’s long jump.
Aerosports and Tent Pegging Show Promise
In aerosports, paragliding standout Abdullah Nasser Al Hammadi took gold in both the target landing and cone slalom events. The UAE also earned a team silver in paragliding.
The tent pegging team, comprising Fahad Shanwan Al Shammari, Saif Mubarak Al Harthi, Mohammed Abdullah Hussein, Khalid Al Masoud Al Hashemi, and Eisa Abdulmajeed Al Baloushi, claimed bronze in the javelin team event.
Bronze for Beach Handball
The UAE beach handball team secured bronze after winning four matches against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, despite two defeats to Oman. The event followed a double round-robin format, with each team playing every opponent twice.
The 3rd GCC Beach Games saw the UAE competing in all eight sports featured: beach football, handball, volleyball, athletics, tent pegging, sailing, swimming, and paragliding. With a strong performance across disciplines and a second-place finish overall, the UAE delegation concluded the Games with pride and momentum for future regional competitions.
