Ministry of Sports Affairs honours 2009 achievers- Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, the Minister of Sports Affairs, described the 2009 as an year of great sporting success for Oman and hoped that the accomplishments of the year will spur the athletes and teams to achieve more glory in 2010.

Speaking at the ministry’s annual awards gala held at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel yesterday, Al Sunaidy said: “The year 2009 has been a great year for Omani sports. The football team’s Gulf Cup triumph gave a great start to the year, which also produced a world champion in body-builder Haji Shaaban. The beach volleyballers won the Arab and GCC titles.”

“In motorsports (Ahmad al Harthy) and sailing, our sportsmen made their presence felt in the European and other international events. We hope for their further success and prosperity in the coming years,” he added speaking immediately after honouring the 2009 achievers. “During this year, we saw our athletes doing well in new disciplines like diving. Their performances give us hope for better results in the future,” he said. The minister took the opportunity to thank His Majesty the Sultan for all the support given to sports. “On this occasion, I would like to express my thanks to His Majesty for the attention and continuous support given to sports ,” he said.

Al Sunaidy also thanked all the private sector organisations and heads of various sports bodies as well as the coaching and technical committees which helped the teams and individuals to bring laurels for the nation. Earlier, the glittering ceremony began with Rashad al Hinai, Under-Secretary of Ministry of Sports Affairs, addressing the audience and detailing the achievements of the year in his speech. “The year’s highlights have been the maiden Gulf Cup football triumph and Haji Shaaban’s world title. Nabil al Busaidy’s North Pole expedition, and Ahmad al Harthy’s exploits at the BARC series in the UK and Bahrain races are the other major achievements of the year,” he said.

Later Ahmad al Harthy was invited to speak and the Omani ace racer thanked the ministry and the other organisations concerned on behalf of all the award winners. Then started the awarding ceremony. The first to be honoured was the Oman Football Association (OFA) for Gulf Cup triumph and the success of other national teams. OFA chief Sayyid Khalid al Busaidy was present to accept the honour. The under-16 football team, who qualified for the AFC Under-16 Championship, were honoured next. The volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, athletics, equestrian (tent-pegging), swimming, tennis, body-building, weightlifting and powerlifting followed in that order. Then Mohsin al Busaidy, Ahmad al Harthy and Nabil al Busaidy were handed over certificates in that order.

HAJI THANKS HM
After receiving the award, world body-building champion Haji Shaaban expressed his gratitude to His Majesty the Sultan for the generous support he received upon bagging the gold medal. “His Majesty’s generous gesture was a great honour for me and it motivates me to put in more hard work and achieve further success,” he said. The ministry also recognised the role played by the private sector companies by awarding trophies and certificates. Suhail Bahwan Group was awarded this year’s gold trophy while the silver went to Zubair Group. Saud Bahwan Group and BankMuscat were awarded bronze trophies. The other companies to be honoured were Galfar, WJ Towell, Assarain, Omifco, Kalhat LLC, Oman Gas Company, NBO and Khimji Ramdas.