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Taranto, Aug. 22 (SANA) Syrian wrestler Mohammad Asad al-Din al-Asta defeated Türkiye’s Ekrem Öztürk 8-4 in the 60-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games. The 20th Mediterranean Games opened Friday in the Italian city of Taranto and will run until September 3, with 26 countries and nearly 3,800 athletes competing in 33 sports. The Ministry of Sports and Youth said on its official Telegram channel that Syria is represented by 28 athletes competing in eight sports: wrestling, gymnastics, karate, weightlifting, cycling, archery, judo and table tennis. Italian President Sergio Mattarella officially opened the Games in the presence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, senior Italian officials and the president of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games. The opening ceremony featured 70 artists in a theatrical performance tracing Taranto’s history from ancient Greece to the present. The Mediterranean Games are an international multi-sport competition within the Olympic movement and are recognized by the International Olympic Committee. This edition includes five African countries — Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco — two Asian countries, Syria and Lebanon, and 19 European countries. Italy is hosting the Games for the fourth time, following Naples in 1963, Bari in 1997 and Pescara in 2009. The inaugural Mediterranean Games were held in Alexandria in 1951. R A H / M.F