Wednesday 11 / November / 2026
DAKAR: Oman's Jana al Sharji came agonisingly close to a historic Youth Olympic Games (YOG) medal, settling for fourth place in the women's individual epee after a 15-8 defeat to Italy's Aina Francesca in the bronze-medal bout at Dakar 2026 on Tuesday.
The 16-year-old fencer produced an impressive run to the semi-finals, underlining her potential against some of the world's leading young fencers before missing out on the podium by one final hurdle.
Jana's campaign included a commanding 15-4 victory over Angola's Joana Saboniet in the round of 16 and a hard-fought 15-13 quarter-final win over Peru's Astrid Bravo. She then lost 15-9 to Ukraine's Alina Dmytruk in the semi-finals before Francesca denied her bronze in the third-place playoff.
Earlier, Jana had made a strong start in Pool A, registering four wins from six bouts.
She defeated Senegal's Ndiaye Mani Mabi 5-3, Benin's Farida Oulahitan Fasasi 5-1, Iran's Ghazal Madani 5-3 and Saboniet 5-0. Her two defeats came against Francesca (2-1) and Chinese Taipei's Arii Lin (3-2).
Despite the disappointment of missing out on a medal, Jana remained determined to turn the experience into motivation for future success.
"I expected to perform better in this bout, and I was confident that I could win a medal. Unfortunately, things did not go as I had hoped, and I was unable to achieve that objective," she said.
The young Omani added that missing the podium would only strengthen her resolve to improve and reach higher levels in the sport.
‘Fine margins cost Jana a medal’
Oman's national fencing head coach, Tunisian Hisham Karshood, said the team's clear ambition had been to win a medal, but small details in the decisive bouts ultimately proved costly.
"We worked very hard throughout the preparation period, and our ambition was to win an Olympic medal. Unfortunately, a few small details made the difference in the final encounter and prevented Jana from reaching the podium," he said.
"Nevertheless, reaching the semi-finals is an achievement in itself, particularly given the strength of the competition and the quality of the participating fencers."
Al Naabi hails technical gains
Oman's delegation chief at Dakar 2026 and Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) board member, Eng Khalfan Al Naabi, described Jana's fourth-place finish as one of the standout performances of the Omani campaign.
"Jana's fourth-place finish represents an important milestone for both the athlete and Oman fencing. She delivered an impressive performance and proved that she has the technical ability to compete against highly ranked fencers from around the world. She came very close to securing the bronze medal," he said.
Al Naabi stressed that the value of participation at a major international event extended beyond medals, pointing to the technical development, competitive exposure and experience gained by the young athletes.
He said competing against international opponents and experiencing the demands of a major multi-sport event would help strengthen their confidence, develop their competitive maturity and prepare them for higher levels of competition.
He also called for closer coordination between the Oman Olympic Committee and the respective sports federations to build on the positive indicators from Dakar.
Oman wrap up campaign
Oman began their Dakar 2026 campaign with swimmer Hamed al Hasani, who carried the national flag at the opening ceremony. He finished second in Heat 1 of the men's 400m freestyle in 4:29, placing 31st overall among 33 competitors in the preliminary rounds.
Al Hasani was also scheduled to compete in the 800m freestyle, but the event was cancelled by organisers because of high water temperatures in the Olympic pool.
Meanwhile, taekwondo representative Ziyad al Balushi was unable to travel to Senegal after an unexpected health setback, ruling him out of the men's under-48kg competition and his planned Youth Olympic Games debut.
