Jordan starts medals tally as Arab Sports Games make comeback

AMMAN – Jordan is looking to set local and regional records at the 15th Arab Sports Games which  have commenced and are underway in Algeria.

The Arab world’s biggest sporting event, also known as the Pan-Arab Games, kicked off with the Opening Ceremony at Algiers’ Stade du 5 Juillet on Wednesday with the Games making a comeback for the first time in 12 years as Algeria welcomed athletes from 22 nations competing in capital as well as the cities of Oran, Constantine, Annaba and Tipaza in what is the first time that five cities host the competitions.

The Kingdom’s delegation to the Pan-Arab Games is headed by Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) board member HRH Princess Aya Bint Faisal, member of the board of directors of the Jordan Olympic Committee and president of the Jordan Volleyball Federation. Asia’s boxing champ, Jordan’s two-time Olympian Ahmad Esheish carried the nation’s flag at the opening ceremony.

Jordan’s 132-strong contingent will be competing in 17 disciplines. By Thursday afternoon Jordan time, the team had so far bagged two golds. The first was secured through Paralympian champ and world record holder Ahmad Hindi in the shot put event for athletes with disability. On the second day of competitions, Amro Al Wir added a second gold in the 100-metre breaststroke, teammate Leith Sabbah bagged a silver in the 100 backstroke while the men’s 4x100 team won silver in swimming.

In Judo, Bilal Mansour won silver and teammate Ahmad Rfou’ a bronze while in the shot put, Musab Momani won a bronze.

Jordan is competing in athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, boxing, fencing, weightlifting, judo, karate, wrestling, volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, chess, table tennis, handball, as well as and athletics and goalball for athletes with disability.

In the last 12th edition of the Games in Qatar 2011, Jordan had the biggest delegation to date, but the contingent ended at a disappointing 9th place with a total of 48 medals (11 gold, 14, silver and 23 bronze).

While Jordan participated in 24 sports, the total medals count was the least for Jordan in the past four games over 12 years. The Jordan Olympic Committee had hoped athletes would surpass the 51 medals picked up at the 11th edition Pan-Arab Games in 2004 after it was 61 (10th Games) and 129 (9th Games).

The Kingdom’s first and only gold medal at the Pan-Arab Games in a team sport came in Morocco in 1985 when Jordan won the basketball event after defeating Iraq 80-78 in the final. 

The Games have previously been organised 12 times since the Arab League first contemplated the idea in 1947. The Pan-Arab Games were held in Alexandria in 1953, Beirut 1957, Casablanca 1961, Cairo 1965, Damascus 1976, Rabat 1985, Damascus 1992, Beirut 1997, Amman 1999, Algeria 2004, Egypt 2007, Qatar 2011. 

The Games were cancelled in 2015 and 2019.

Women first started competing only at the 6th Games in Rabat in 1985. 

Egypt, leads the overall Arab Games table followed by Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Syria. Jordan is at 10th overall spot among 23 countries.

Jordan’s last Arab Sports Games participation in 2011 saw medals count for each event as follows:

Gold: Teakwondo 3, wrestling 3, boxing 2, billiards 2 and 1 cycling.

Silver: Teakwondo 5, gymnastics 2, men’s football 1, men’s basketball 1, chess 1, karate 1, wrestling 1, boxing 1 and bodybuilding 1. 

Bronze: Teakwondo 3, wrestling 3, weightlifting 2, cycling 2, boxing 2, swimming 2, fencing 2 medals, judo 1, women’s handball 1, women’s basketball 1, karate 2, gymnastics 1 and chess 1. 

No medals: Tennis, squash, shooting, water sports, equestrian and volleyball.

At the 2004 Algeria Pan-Arab Games, Jordan earned 61 medals.