Salem and Al Jesmi impress

Doha: From his vantage point on the poolside, Greg Hodge watched as his two athletes swam as fast as they could for their country.

Neither Obaid Al Jesmi nor Mubarak Salem qualified for the finals of their events yesterday, but Hodge is still a happy man.

"Both of the boys swam faster than they have in GCC competitions," said the coach. "It was a good effort for them and as good as we could have hoped to achieve with within the time that we had to prepare."

Al Jesmi, 24, competed in the men's 50-metre freestyle, recording a time of 24.59 seconds. "It was quite good," he said after climbing out of the water. "My time was better than my GCC time of 24.70. I feel great now and I'm looking forward to the 100-metre freestyle."

Salem, who was competing in his first 100-metre breaststroke heat at a major competition was all smiles as he left the pool.

With his time of 1.09.52, he brought his Asian Games challenge to an end and must now focus on the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne next March.

"It was a great experience for me," Salem said.