Doha: Qatar’s Olympic Committee says one of the Gulf nation’s first female athletes to compete at the games will be the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony in London.
The committee said late Wednesday on Twitter that shooter Bahiya Al Hamad has been chosen to “raise the Qatar flag at London 2012.”
Along with Saudi Arabia and Brunei, Qatar has never previously sent female athletes to the Olympics. It is not yet clear if the other two countries will send women to the London Games.
Al Hamad is one of three Qatari women set to compete in London. She received a wild-card invitation after winning three gold and two silver medals at the 2011 Arab Games.
Swimmer Nada Arkaji and sprinter Noor Al Malki had also been given wild cards. Earlier in July, under pressure from the International Olympic Committee to end the tradition of sending men-only teams to the Olympics, Saudi Arabia has said it would allow women who qualify to compete at the London Games. The announcement came as the leadership’s favoured candidate, equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas, was ruled out of the Olympics — sending officials on a hunt for other female athletes they could include on the Saudi team and avoid IOC sanctions a month before the start of the games.
While Qatari women face less restrictions than in Saudi Arabia, the concept of women athletes competing in international competitions is still foreign and it is an uphill battle to change the mindset in the country.
