The 19th Asian Games opens tomorrow and our athletes will compete in athletics, boxing, horse riding , weightlifting and wrestling

Beijing (ST): The 19th Asian Games will open tomorrow at eight pm China time, three pm Damascus time, in the city of Khanju, with the participation of 12,500 male and female athletes representing 40 Asian countries, competing in 40 sports games that include 481 races and competitions, and will continue until the eighth of next October.

Syria participates in five sports: horse riding , weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, and athletics.

The athletics competitions, in which Majd al-Din Ghazal represents us, will begin in the high jump competition at the beginning of next month, in weightlifting Maan Asaad on the 7th of next month, in boxing by Ahmed Ghosoun and Mohamed Mlees from 9-24 to 10-5, and in wrestling Omar Sarem and Naal Barazi. From 4-10 until 7-10, and in horse riding through the riders Ahmed Hamsho and Amr Hamsho from 25-9 until 5-10.

Yesterday, a ceremony to raise the Syrian flag was held in the Olympic Village, with an official reception for the participating delegations in the presence of the Syrian delegation, during which the head of the Syrian delegation, Omar Al-Aroub, presented the shield of the Syrian Olympic Committee to the organizing committee of the session.

This is Syria’s eleventh participation in the Asian tournaments, which were first organized in New Delhi, India, in 1951. Syrian participation in the Asian tournaments began in 1978 in the Thai city of Bangkok.

Syria’s medal tally in the Asian Games stands at 32 medals, 9 gold, 7 silver, and 16 bronze.

Weightlifter Talal Najjar is the only Syrian player to win two gold medals in the tournament, while the rest of the gold medals came from boxer Mayez Khanji, swimmer Hisham Al-Masry, track and field athlete Ghada Shuaa, karate player Raafat Akrad, swimmer Ziad Al-Masry, weightlifter Ahed Jagili, and boxer Muhammad Ghosoun.

K.Q.