Saudi Arabia to investigate 'poor' performance at GCC games

Saudi Arabia will investigate its national team's poor performance during the third Gulf Games in Kuwait, sports officials have said.

The Saudi Olympic Committee plans to audit the performance of its national teams and figure out ways to improve in future competitions.

Committee sources told Saudi outlet Okaz that Olympic Committee officials are dissatisfied with the national team's performance, which saw the kingdom secure fourth place.

In total, Saudi Arabia received a total of 67 medals, — 16 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze, many of which were dependent on karate and fencing competitions.

This is half almost of the medals won during the second Gulf Games held in Dammam in 2015, when Saudi Arabia came first with 115 medals.

The committee said it will come up with long-term plans to train the best sports teams, especially ahead of the Asian Games, which will be hosted by Qatar in 2030 before heading to Riyadh in 2034.

However, the committee also detailed plans to commend best performing contestants, especially the Saudi women’s team, which took part for the first time.

The Gulf Cooperation Council Games, launched in 2011, is a quadrennial multi-sport event for individual and team sports. The third competition took place in May.