MAKKAH, 15 April 2005 — Prince Nawaf ibn Muhammad, chief of Saudi Arabia’s Track and Field Federation, praised the Saudi athletes for their excellent achievements. He said that they entered all events and emerged from most of the competition with a gold medal. He particularly made mention of Ibraheem Al-Hamidi, 400-meter hurdles gold medalist, as heir apparent of Saudi star hurdler Hadi Souan. He was very happy that the new Asian record in long jump went from Saudi Hussein Al-Saba to another Saudi Muhammad Al-Khuwaildi.
Suspension of Iraqi Player Canceled
MAKKAH, 15 April 2005 — The technical committee for taekwondo canceled the suspension on Iraqi player Ahmad Kazem after he issued a public apology Wednesday for his unsportsmanlike conduct in which he verbally attacked the referees.
Al-Kahtani Promises Football Gold
JEDDAH, 15 April 2005 — Saudi striker Yasser Al-Kahtani has promised to deliver the football gold medal even as he noted the quarterfinal will be tough since the best teams from the four groups qualified. He said the huge 5-0 win against Algeria was the result of total team effort. More positive results from the Saudi team, he said, are on the way and urged fans to support the team.
Sad Exit for Chad From Competition
MADINAH, 15 April 2005 — The basketball and football competition lost one of their most loyal fans when the Chad exited both competitions. Despite their win against Palestine in basketball on Wednesday, the Chad team did not earn enough points to qualify for the last eight. Losing Chad in both competitions means losing a huge crowd attending these games.
