Saudi national dodgeball team arrive in South Africa for training camp

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Saudi Arabia’s dodgeball national team has arrived in South Africa, where they will be holding a five-day training camp to prepare for their participation in the Asian Dodgeball Championship 2024. (Supplied)
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Saudi Arabia’s dodgeball national team has arrived in South Africa, where they will be holding a five-day training camp to prepare for their participation in the Asian Dodgeball Championship 2024. (Supplied)
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Updated 20 September 2023
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Saudi national dodgeball team arrive in South Africa for training camp

  • The five-day training trip, during which the players will take part in 18 friendly matches, is part of their preparations for the Asian Dodgeball Championship 2024
  • Coach Hani Nabil will work with the main men’s team and the U-21 squad to assess and develop skills before choosing his team for the tournament next year

SOUTH AFRICA: The Saudi national dodgeball team has arrived in South Africa for a five-day training camp as part of their preparations for the Asian Dodgeball Championship 2024.
Coach Hani Nabil will work with the main men’s national team and the U-21 squad to assess and develop young players’ skill levels, before choosing the final team who will represent the Kingdom at the tournament next year
During their visit, the Saudi players will take part in the South African Friendly Championship and play 18 matches.
The national team squad includes 22 players: Hassan Aman, Ahmed Al-Muhar, Hadi Alawi, Ahmed Al-Quwaii, Mohamed Al-Fardan, Ali Al-Zayer, Hani Al-Abd Rabb Al-Nabi, Mustafa Al-Muhaishi, Ahmed Al-Muhaishi, Hussein Al-Basha, Ahmed Al-Kayyal, Abdul-Rahman Zidane, Salah Kassim, Firas Al-Dalaan, Abdullah Baatab, Sultan Fakhoury, Mohamed Al-Ghannam, Raed Salman, Khaled Al-Shaeri, Maitham Al-Hajji, Moaz Al-Maliki and Saleh Al-Saeed.
The training camp, which will conclude on Sept. 25, was organized by the Saudi Dodgeball Federation. The officials accompanying the team include Abdulaziz Al-Hazani, the federation’s executive director, administrative staff Laila Al-Hamidi, Mustafa Al-Fahd and Fatun Al-Jaber, and technical staff Hani Abdel Malek, Gumulur Issa and Ibrahim Mahdi.


ESL Saudi Challenge to offer Kingdom’s gamers a path to global competition

Updated 11 October 2024
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ESL Saudi Challenge to offer Kingdom’s gamers a path to global competition

  • ESL FACEIT Group announces first-ever exclusive tournament for Saudi Arabia, kicking off on Oct. 18

RIYADH: ESL FACEIT Group has announced the launch of the ESL Saudi Challenge, the first-ever ESL tournament exclusively for the Saudi gaming community.

Starting on Oct. 18 with Overwatch 2 as the featured game, the event will provide a unique opportunity for local talent to compete on the global stage.

Running until Dec. 7, it will see Saudi’s top teams battle for a share of a $20,000 prize pool. The competition begins with three open tournaments hosted on the FACEIT platform, with the top two teams from each securing a playoff place. These will join two invited teams in an intense double-elimination showdown, culminating in a thrilling final at VOV Gaming in Riyadh.

“The ESL Saudi Challenge is more than just a tournament — it’s the beginning of a new chapter for esports in Saudi Arabia,” said Franck Guignery, ESL FACEIT Group’s senior vice president for the Middle East & Africa region.

“By featuring Overwatch 2 and providing a pathway to international competition, we’re offering Saudi esports enthusiasts a chance to showcase their skills on a global stage. Whether you’re an aspiring esports player, a professional player or a fan, this is your chance to be part of the action and witness the rise of local talent.”

ESL FACEIT Group is the world's largest esports and video game entertainment company. In January 2022 it was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, which is 100 percent owned by the country's Public Investment Fund, for $1.5 billion. ESL FACEIT Group has been appointed the main official operating partner of the Esports World Cup for the next five years.


Fahd Al-Harbi retains skeet shooting title at Saudi Games

Updated 09 October 2024
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Fahd Al-Harbi retains skeet shooting title at Saudi Games

  • Mohammed Al-Khamshi takes silver, Saeed Al-Mutairi bronze
  • Weightlifter Siraj Al-Sulaim wins gold in men’s 67 kg division

RIYADH: Fahd Al-Harbi successfully defended his skeet shooting title at the Saudi Games on Wednesday, the final day of the shooting events at the Public Security Training City.
Mohammed Al-Khamshi and Saeed Al-Mutairi took silver and bronze, respectively.
Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Musaad, vice president of the Saudi Shooting Federation, handed out the medals after five days of fierce competition. Maj. Gen. Nasser bin Othman Al-Nasser, assistant director of public security for training affairs, also attended the medals ceremony.
In the weightlifting competition, Saudi Weightlifting Federation President Mohammed Al-Harbi crowned the winners of the youth, women’s and men’s competitions, in three weight categories at Boulevard 4.
The medals ceremony was also attended by Antonio Conflitti, president of the European Weightlifting Federation, and Khaled Mhalhel, president of the African Weightlifting Federation.
Al-Ula Club’s Siraj Al-Sulaim won gold in the men’s 67 kg category, while Nawaf Al-Muzaidi of Al-Tarf took the silver and Mansour Al-Sulaim of Al-Ula the bronze.
In the youth’s 55 kg category, Mohammed Al-Ajyan of Al-Huda Club took the gold, ahead of Al-Omran’s Hassan Al-Wubari and Reda Al-Zori of Al-Noor.
In the women’s 59 kg category, English Kimloni of Al-Ittihad won the gold medal, Jannah Al-Amari of Jeddah Club took silver and Al-Anoud Al-Shahri of Al-Tarf took the bronze.
They were awarded their medals by Fawzia Hobani, a board member of the Saudi Weightlifting Federation.


Shooter Suaar Al-Dosari wins gold in 10-meter air pistol competition at Saudi Games

Updated 08 October 2024
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Shooter Suaar Al-Dosari wins gold in 10-meter air pistol competition at Saudi Games

  • Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Musaed, Saudi Shooting Federation’s vice president, awards winners at event

RIYADH: Shooter Suaar Al-Dosari has won the gold medal in the men’s 10-meter air pistol competition at the 2024 Saudi Games.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Musaed, the Saudi Shooting Federation’s vice president, awarded the winners at the third edition of the event at Public Security Training City in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Attallah Al-Enazi claimed silver while Fahd Al-Mutairi took bronze.
Sarah Al-Huqbani claimed the gold medal in the women’s competition while Noura Al-Suqairan and Noha Al-Husseini won silver and bronze, respectively.
At the Paralympic weightlifting competition, Mohammed Al-Harbi, president of the Saudi Weightlifting Federation, awarded the medals to the winners.
Adnan Noor Saeed, of Jeddah Disability Club, took the gold medal In the 65 kg weight category, ahead of clubmate Mayasar Al-Alimi (silver) and Talal Al-Balawi, of Madinah Disability Club, who claimed bronze.
Jeddah Disability Club’s Aseel Hawsawi claimed gold in the 97 kg category, with Saeed Hawsawi, of Makkah Disability Club, taking silver and Tariq Balghith, of Jeddah Disability Club, the bronze.


Al-Nassr retain women’s volleyball title at Saudi Games

Updated 04 October 2024
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Al-Nassr retain women’s volleyball title at Saudi Games

  • Al-Qadsiah Club take swimming gold in men’s 4x100 medley relay
  • Al-Fateh Club’s Patrick Zymek wins gold in 200-meter backstroke event

RIYADH: Al-Nassr women’s volleyball team successfully defended their Saudi Games title on Friday, beating Al-Ula in a one-way final.
Ahlam Al-Omari from the board of the Saudi Volleyball Federation, presented the gold medals to the winners after their three-set (25-10, 25-17, 25-13) victory.
Samira Asghari, from the International Olympic Committee, and Hanan Al-Qahtani, from the Saudi Volleyball Federation, watched the match, which was held at the Ministry of Sports Hall at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh.
Al-Ula won silver, while Al-Fayhaa took bronze after defeating Al-Anqa 3-0.
In the swimming pool, Al-Qadsiah Club won gold in the men’s 4x100-meter medley relay, while Al-Hilal Club took silver and Al-Adalah Club bronze.
In the men’s 200-meter backstroke, Al-Fateh Club’s Patrick Zymek won the gold medal, ahead of Al-Qadsiah’s Ali Al-Essa and Abdulmajid Al-Marwani of Al-Khaleej.
Farouk Al-Jidaily of Al-Ahli won gold in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, while Alexander Younis of Aqua Falcon Academy took silver and Mohammed Al-Zaki of Al-Adalah bronze.
Ahmed Al-Qudmani, president of the Saudi Swimming Federation, handed out the swimming medals at an event attended by British Olympic swimming champion and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medal winner Adam Peaty.
In the badminton competition, Muqrin Al-Muqrin, president of the Saudi Badminton Federation, handed out the medals to the winners of the men’s and women’s singles events, which concluded at Boulevard 4.
Khadija Niza, of Al-Ittihad, won gold in the women’s competition, while Aerial Vinoflor of Al-Faisaly took silver and Sin Chengari of Al-Salamiya won bronze.
In the men’s event, Shamil Motamil of Al-Hilal won gold, Adnan Hassan of Al-Nassr took silver and Mahd Sheikh of Al-Riyadh won bronze.
Prince Saud bin Jalawi, governor of Jeddah, crowned the winners of the coastal rowing competition, which ran for two days at Obhur Corniche.
Rakan Ali Reda took gold in the men’s category, ahead of Turki Al-Aref and Moayad Al-Rshidi.
In the women’s event, Haya Al-Mami won gold ahead of Israa Qadri and Yusra Malaika.
The Saudi Games are being held for the third year, with 9,000 athletes representing 200 clubs competing in 52 sports. Gold medal winners also pick up a cash prize of SR1 million ($266,000), silver medal winners SR300,000 and bronze medal winners SR100,000.


Al-Ittihad beat Khaleej to go top of Saudi Pro League

Updated 28 September 2024
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Al-Ittihad beat Khaleej to go top of Saudi Pro League

  • Angelo Gabriel and Cristiano Ronaldo score as Al-Nassr defeat Al-Wehda 2-0, while Qadsiah overcome Al-Ahli by a single goal

RIYADH: Al-Ittihad leapfrogged Al-Ahli to claim top spot in the Saudi Pro League after a 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej on Friday night, with the reigning champions still to play on Saturday.

The visitors shocked the home crowd by taking a fifth-minute lead thanks to Khaled Narey, which they held until half-time.

But after the break Al-Ittihad rediscovered the form that saw them beat Al-Wehda 7-1 two weeks ago and scored four times in a dominant second half performance.

Karim Benzem kick-started the comeback four minutes after the break and there were further goals from Houssem Amour (56), Steven Bergwijn (68) and Hamed Al-Ghamdi (stoppage time).

The Jeddah club, champions two seasons ago, now sit top of the SPL standings with 12 points from five matches but will drop to second if Al-Hilal — with a perfect record after four matches — get at least a draw against Al-Kholood at home on Saturday night.

Meanwhile Al-Nassr managed to record their second win in a row for the first time this season when they beat Al-Wehda 2-0 in Riyadh. Angelo Gabriel opened the scoring on 41 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo wrapped up the win with a penalty in the 56th minute. Al-Nassr now sit in third place with 11 points.

In Friday’s other match, a difficult week for Al-Ahli — which saw them suffer a shock exit in the King’s Cup — got worse. They lost 1-0 at the hands of newly promoted Al-Qadsiah, thanks to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty on 43 minutes, his first SPL goal for the Aramco-owned club.