Yemen earned a historical gold medal in the Arab Youth Championships in Cairo

The second edition of the Arab Youth Championships was held in Cairo, Egypt where five Asian teams competed and among them surprisingly Yemen was the most successful in the important regional competition. The Asian nations claimed one gold, two silver and six bronze medals in the Arab Youth Championships in the capital city of Egypt.
Yemen has done a big sensation in the Arab Youth Championships in Cairo where their youth No.1 Ghaleb Mohammad Al-Qarnas defeated his rivals and won the gold medal in the light flyweight (49kg). The Yemeni boxer, who was quarter-finalist in the last edition of the Children of Asia Games in Yakutsk one year ago, delivered a historical first gold medal for his developing boxing country.
The 17-year-old Al-Qarnas eliminated Morocco’s Youth National Champion Yahya Jadig in a hectic semi-final and advanced to the gold medal bout of the light flyweight (49kg). His opponent Algeria’s AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships competitor Salim Ait Bekka was more experienced than the Yemeni talent but Al-Qarnas had great stamina and he was able to beat the favourite by split decision.
Yemen sent five boxers to the Arab Youth Championships and besides to the winner Ghaleb Mohammad Al-Qarnas, three of his teammates claimed bronze medal in Cairo. Mustafa Mohammed Abdo Saeed (56kg), Naseem Hussein Ahmed Al-Qadhi (60kg) and Mohammed Mansoor Ali Zaid (64kg) all took bronze medals and lost only narrowly in their semi-finals against more experienced North African rivals.
Jordan’s Junior National Champion Bader Samreen advanced to the final of the welterweight (69kg) following his success against Morocco’s Tarik Zaatout and he had a narrow fight for the title against Egypt’s Youssef Mohamed Sobhy. The final verdict was 3:2 to the Egyptian boxer but the 16-year-old Samreen proved he is a top talent in Jordan.
Another top youth boxer from Jordan secured silver medal in the Arab Youth Championships in Cairo. Their light heavyweight (81kg) hope Ali Hindi, who competed at the 2015 ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Tashkent, eliminated Algeria’s Zinedine Okka in a quick semi-final which he won by RSCI but he lost to Egypt’s Youssef Ali Karar in the gold medal bout in Cairo.
United Arab Emirates claimed two bronze medals in the Arab Youth Championships in Cairo where their Mohamed Al-Hameli (75kg) and Rashed Al-Saedi (+91kg) reached the podiums. Their best youth boxers such as Sultan El-Dhaheri (60kg) and Fahad Al-Khoori (64kg) lost their close quarter-final contests against North African opponents.
Lebanon sent four boxers to the Arab Youth Championships and among them Mohamed Salah Alnaeli achieved bronze medal at the super heavyweight (+91kg). Qatar took part with two boxers in 2016 and the country was sent also two boxers to the second edition of the Arab Youth Championships to Cairo where 17-year-old Abdulrahman Salah Al-Khulaifi proved he is competitive at the flyweight (52kg).

Asian medallists in the Arab Youth Championships
Gold medal – Ghaleb Mohammad Al-Qarnas, Yemen (49kg)
Silver medal – Bader Samreen, Jordan (69kg)
Silver medal – Ali Hindi, Jordan (81kg)
Bronze medal – Mustafa Mohammed Abdo Saeed, Yemen (56kg)
Bronze medal – Naseem Hussein Ahmed Al-Qadhi, Yemen (60kg)
Bronze medal – Mohammed Mansoor Ali Zaid, Yemen (64kg)
Bronze medal – Mohamed Al-Hameli, United Arab Emirates (75kg)
Bronze medal – Mohamed Salah Alnaeli, Lebanon (+91kg)
Bronze medal – Rashed Al-Saedi, United Arab Emirates (+91kg)