DAMASCUS, Aug. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Syria has met its target at the 28th Olympic Games with the third medal grabbed by Nasser al-Shamiin the men's 91kg boxing bout on Friday.

    Shami lost to Cuba's Odlanier Solis in the semifinal in Athens but secured a bronze together with Egypt's Mohamed Elsayed, who was defeated by Belarus' Viktar Zuyev in another semifinal.

    This is the tenth time that a Syrian team competing in an Olympic Games, with its first in 1948.

    During the 1984 Los Angeles games, Syrian athlete Joseph Atiyehwon a silver medal in men's freestyle wrestling, the first-ever Olympic medal in its history.

    The Syrians were proud again when Ghada Shouaa won the country's first gold medal in women's heptathlon in the 1996 Atlanta games.