UAE rider Omar Al Marzooqi reaches Paris Olympics showjumping final

Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali eases into 3000m steeplechase final

UAE's Omar Al Marzooqi has qualified for individual showjumping final at the Paris Olympics. Reuters

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UAE rider Omar Al Marzooqi qualified for the final of individual showjumping at the Paris Olympics.

Al Marzooqi, 21, was the last of the UAE riders out for the qualifiers atop Enjoy de la Mure and finished in 21st position out of 66 who completed the round. He had a near flawless round and was handed just one penalty for time to keep the UAE’s hopes alive at the Games.

However, it was not a great day for his teammates. Veteran Abdullah Al Marri, riding BBS McGregor, had to retire while Salim Al Suwaidi, on Foncetti VD Heffink, finished 61st with 16 penalties.

The final of the individual showjumping takes place on Tuesday from 12pm UAE time.

Interestingly, Al Marzooqi and cyclist Safiya Al Sayegh carried the UAE’s flag during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali began his quest for Olympic glory in fine fashion as he won his 3000m steeplechase heat to qualify for the final.

El Bakkali won his heat with a time of 8:17.90 to make it to the medal round, where he will aim to defend his steeplechase title on Wednesday and become just the third Arab to win double gold.

Joining him in the final are Ahmed Jaziri of Tunisia and Mohamed Tindouft of Morocco.

In the men's team table tennis, the Egyptian pair of Khalid Assar and Youssef Abdel-Aziz were eliminated in the round of 16. Up against Chinese Taipei, Egypt took the first two games 12-10, 13-11, before losing the final three games, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

Also in the round of 16, the Egyptian women's team of Dina Meshref and Hana Goda lost 3-0 to top-seeded China.

Imane Khelif calls for end to bullying

Boxer Imane Khelif is guaranteed a medal when she takes on Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in her semi-final, but the Algerian said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender "harms human dignity," and she called for an end to bullying athletes.

Khelif said she had been greatly affected by the international backlash against her. She spoke about her Olympic experience in an interview with SNTV, a sports video partner of the Associated Press.

“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said in Arabic. "It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”

The victories of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan in the ring have become one of the biggest stories of the Paris Games. Both women have clinched their first Olympic medals even as they have faced scrutiny based on unsubstantiated claims about their gender.

Khelif, 25, acknowledged the pressure and pain of enduring this ordeal while competing far from home in the most important event of her athletic career.

“I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply,” she said. “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”

Athletes from the Mena region will be well represented on the track and field.

Winfred Yavi carries arguably the best hope for a medal when she lines up in the women’s steeplechase final.

The Bahraini, 24, is the reigning Asian and world champion over the 3,000m distance and is the No 1-ranked runner in the field of 15.

Yavi breezed into the final after winning her heat in a time of 9 mins, 15.11 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayeu and USA’s Valerie Constein.

Yavi’s personal best time of 8:50.66 is impressive but is still some way off the world record (8:44.32) set by Beatrice Chepkoech in Monaco six years ago.

Qatar’s Ammar Yahia Ibrahim lines up in the first semi-final of the men’s 400m with the first two finisher in the three heats assured of a place in the final.

Noura Ennadi of Morocco goes in heat 3 of the women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals.