RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal on Saturday crowned British jockey Ben Maher winner of the Longines Global Champions Tour, ending a 15-city tour around the world that ended in Riyadh’s historic Diriyah.
Prince Abdulaziz, who is also president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and president of Diriyah Season, also crowned the three winners of the Riyadh tour, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah, chairman of the Saudi Equestrian Federation, crowned the Berlin Eagles team with the World Champions League title, and the St. Tropez Pirates were crowned the champions of the final Riyadh team tour.
The tournament of 50 jockeys, representing 19 countries around the world, sees competition between the teams.
And in the overall ranking of the championship, the competition was strong between Maher, Belgian Pieter Devos, German Christian Ahlmann, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Ireland’s Bertram Allen and Austrian Max Kuhner to win the competition to gain time and avoid mistakes.
Equestrians from the Kingdom, including Abdullah Al-Sharbatly, Abdul Rahman Al-Rajhi, Meshary Al-Harbi, Khaled Al-Mabti, Saad Al-Ajmi, and more than 65 male and female riders participated in the accompanying runs that were hosted by the Saudi Equestrian Federation.
At the end of the third day of the championship, the jockeys competed in the ninth run called the Saudi Equestrian Federation run, in which Al-Sharbatly achieved first place with a time of 50:00 seconds in a clean round without errors. Al-Ajmi won the tenth run, called the Equestrian Sports Company for Events run, with a time of 38: 59 seconds in a clean round without errors.
The Longines tour is one of the activities of the Diriyah Season, which has become one of the most important tourist, cultural and entertainment destinations in the region. Diriyah Authority aims to attract more than 25 million visitors annually to this region, which hosts many museums, hotels, shops and restaurants, to be a global destination for culture, leisure, marketing and hospitality.
Saudi sport minister crowns Ben Maher winner of Longines championship
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Saudi sport minister crowns Ben Maher winner of Longines championship
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
