RIYADH: Saudi rowers have bagged nine medals, including two golds, at the 2022 Asian Rowing Virtual Indoor Championships to qualify for the upcoming world championships. Mohammed Al-Matrood and Faten Mirza clinched gold in the 2,000m and 500m races in the masters category, while Khaled Shaker won silver in the 500m masters category and Iman Rafiq finished second in the open category in the 500m. Bronze medals were claimed by Omar Al-Sayed in the men’s under-16 2,000m race, Khaled Shaker in the 2,000m masters event, and Kariman Abu Al-Jadayel in the open women’s 2,000m race. The Saudi medalists have now qualified for the 2022 World Rowing Indoor Championships on Feb. 25-26. Ali Hussein Ali Reda, chairman of the Saudi Rowing Federation, congratulated the Saudi team as well as technical and administrative staff. “We are proud of this achievement and we look forward to more hard work to achieve the best results at the upcoming championships, within the strategic plan that we have set,” he said. Youssef Wael Julidan, the federation’s executive director, said that the medals were the result of hard work by competitors and coaches in recent months.