Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi leads way as Saudi Arabia bags 3 karate gold medals at GCC Games

RIYADH: Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi led the way as the Saudi karate team claimed three gold and two silver medals on the final day of the third GCC Games in Kuwait.

Hamdi, a silver medalist at Tokyo 2020, took first place in the plus-84-kilogram weight category after defeating Mohammed Al-Majadi of the host nation.

Faraj Al-Nashiri added a second gold medal for the Saudis after defeating Bahrain’s Salem Al-Juma in the 84-kg class, while Fahd Al-Khathami won the third by beating Kuwait’s Musa Hassan in the 67-kg grouping.

Meanwhile, Badr Al-Otaibi took silver after losing to Kuwaiti Abdullah Shaaban in the final of the 60-kg category, and Yasser Barqi won silver after going down to Sultan Al-Mutairi, also from the host nation, in the 55-kg competition.

In total, over the three days of karate competition, the Saudi men’s team won seven medals; four gold, two silver, and a bronze.