Manama: King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has honoured the two Bahraini Olympic medalists and the junior national handball team for their outstanding achievements.
Ruth Jebet gave Bahrain its first ever gold medal in the Olympic Games when she dominated the women's 3000m steeplechase, while Eunice Kirwa, clinched the silver medal in the women’s marathon at the Games.
The tally placed Bahrain at the top of the Arab world on the medal table and 10th in Asia, the most populous continent.
In the 2012 Olympics in London, Bahrain won a silver medal.
In recognition of their achievements, King Hamad conferred the Competence Medal on the two Bahraini Olympic medalists.
The Bahraini monarch also congratulated the members of the junior national handball team who won the Seventh Asian Championship for the first time in the country’s history.
The win qualified Bahrain for the World Cup finals to be held in Georgia next year.
King Hamad said that Bahrain’s remarkable performance at the 31st Olympic Games and the success of the junior handball team proved the outstanding capabilities of Bahraini athletes.
He also highlighted their resolve to achieve more feats for Bahrain at the coming events.
This requires the state to provide more support to Bahraini youth regarding facilities and training to empower them to raise the national banner at international sporting gatherings, he said as he received the medalists and the handball team on the eve of Eid Al Adha.
Jebet and Kirwa said they were grateful to King Hamad for the honour, adding that it would be a great motivation “to achieve more outstanding results and raise the kingdom’s banner at various international meets.”
The two Olympic medalists added they were grateful for the special support they received from Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the King’s Personal Representative for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) Chairman and the Bahrain Olympic Committee President, and Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the SCYS First Deputy Chairman and the Bahrain Athletics Association.
The Asian handball champions pledged to exert greater efforts in order to secure mew sports accomplishments for the country.
