iMSPORT.TV – Indonesian athlete Muhammad Ikhwanuddin successfully finished in the top 10 in the men’s 2000-meter camel race final at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG 2025). This event marked a successful debut.

Ikhwan’s success in reaching the top 10 was made even more special by his failure to qualify for the final. In qualifying, he finished 13th, one place outside the top 12 athletes eligible for the final.

However, Ikhwan, riding a camel named Sogan, finally earned his place in the final after the withdrawal of host athlete Aziz Al Howaiti.

This automatically moved him up to 12th place and earned him a place in the final.

In the final, Ikhwan, starting from the second row, recorded a time of 3:47.895 minutes, with an average camel speed of 31.593 km/h. This is better than the record he made in the qualifying round, 4:05.886 minutes.

“Thank God, the most important thing is that I made it to the finish line safely. But it wasn’t particularly fast today,” Ikhwan said in an official NOC Indonesia release, quoted Friday (November 21, 2025).

“There were a few things I probably didn’t understand, so the camel wasn’t running very fast. Thank God, the camel didn’t turn around,” he added.

Islamic Solidarity Games 2025: Muhammad Ikhwanuddin Reaches Top 10 in Camel Race Final

Saudi Arabian athlete Ahmed Aljohni won the gold medal with a time of 3:02.779 minutes. Second place went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) representative, Rashid Abdullah Alkaabi, with a 0.866-second difference, followed by his compatriot, Matar Almheiri, who took bronze with a time of 3:04.102 minutes.

After the race, Ikhwan expressed his gratitude for completing the race and improving his performance. Furthermore, he was able to break into the top 10 on his international debut.

“I’m so happy. I didn’t expect to perform like this. Thank God for all the support from the management, coaches, friends, and the medical team. Thank you. Also, to my friends who always supported me at the finish line,” he concluded.