Manama, October 27 (QNA) - The Qatari 3x3 basketball team won the bronze medal on Monday at the 3rd Asian Youth Games, currently being held in the Kingdom of Bahrain and continuing until October 31, with the participation of more than 5,000 athletes representing 45 Asian Olympic Committees.

The Qatari team won the bronze medal after a well-deserved victory over its Mongolian counterpart, 18-13, in the third-place match at the conclusion of the 3x3 basketball competition.

The Qatari national team thus added a new medal to the Qatari national team's tally at the Games, bringing Qatar's total to four medals. This followed runner Idris Abubaker's gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles, Dana Salem's silver medal in the 100-meter race in athletics, and the equestrian team's silver medal in the team show jumping competition.

The Qatari national team put on a strong performance and demonstrated a distinguished performance against Mongolia, earning them a deserved victory and advancing to the podium alongside China and Bahrain, who won the gold and silver medals, respectively, following China's victory in the final match.

The Qatari national team had lost to Bahrain in the semi-finals (10-21), having qualified for this round by defeating Chinese Taipei (21-10) in the quarter-finals.

The Qatari national team finished the tournament with seven wins and just one loss, topping Group 3 in the group stage with a perfect score, after defeating Cambodia (21-7), Thailand (22-17), Uzbekistan (21-20), Maldives (21-8), and Palestine (21-7).

The Qatari 3x3 basketball team included Mohammed Saeed Badri, Pakayakani Mboji, Mahamadou Diop, and Azzam Mohammed Yakan.

In a related development, Qatari swimmer Mohammed Ismail finished fourth in the 100m butterfly in the swimming competitions, which began yesterday and will continue for four days.

Mohammed Ismail was close to finishing on the podium and claiming a medal until the final moments of the race, which witnessed fierce competition between the participating swimmers.

The race was ultimately decided by Iranian Mohammad Mahdi, who won the gold medal. Filipino Jamesray Ajido took the silver medal, while Hong Kong's Ken Hee James won the bronze medal, finishing just six hundredths of a second ahead of our swimmer.

In table tennis, the Qatari team achieved impressive results. Issa Al-Haddad defeated Kuwait's Barak Al-Tawrah 3-1 (10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8). Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah defeated Maldivian Alian Nesham 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-3). Youssef Al Abdullah completed the winning streak by defeating Cambodian Kim Go To 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-4).

In the cycling competition, Qatari rider Abdul Ali Hamza finished 21st in the individual time trial.

In badminton, Qatari player Hamad Al Malki lost to Singapore's Ji Rui Chew in straight sets (9-21, 9-21) in the first round of the individual competition.

The Qatari national team is represented by 67 male and female athletes in this edition, participating in 16 sports, including athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, equestrian (show jumping), golf, judo, jiu-jitsu, cycling, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wrestling, volleyball, beach volleyball, and boxing.

Yassin Ismail, manager of the Qatari 3x3 basketball team, expressed his happiness at the team's bronze medal win, stressing that this medal represents a significant achievement in the team's history and adds to Qatar's medal tally at the Games.

He added, "Winning medals in combined tournaments amidst strong competition among elite Asian teams has a special impact. Naturally, we hoped to win the gold medal, but we were unsuccessful.

This is the first time we have placed third in the Asian Youth Games, an achievement we are proud of and consider a motivation to strive even harder in the future." (QNA)