Kickboxing, arm wrestling and fencing take center stage on day 8 of World Combat Games

Medals were awarded in kickboxing, armwrestling and fencing on day eight of the Riyadh World Combat Games on Friday. (Supplied)
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Updated 27 October 2023
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Kickboxing, arm wrestling and fencing take center stage on day 8 of World Combat Games

  • A total of 30 gold medals were won across the event on Friday, with Saudi Arabia's total medal tally reaching 41 after the day’s action

RIYADH: Medals were awarded in kickboxing, arm wrestling and fencing on day eight of the Riyadh World Combat Games on Friday.

A total of 30 gold medals were won across the event on Friday, with Saudi Arabia's total medal tally reaching 41 after the day’s action.

Ukraine are first in the standings, leading the total gold medal count with 18, while Kazakhstan follows in second with 10. Hosts Saudi Arabia are third with a total of nine gold medals.

Women’s Low Kick kickboxing

In the women's Low Kick kickboxing discipline, Brazil's Maria Eduarda Costa Alves secured the gold in the -48 kg division, Julina Nilusmas of France took the top spot in the -56 kg category, and Serbia's Valentina Keri emerged with first in the -65 kg weight class.

Women’s Point Fighting kickboxing

Gold in women’s Point Fighting was secured by Italy’s Carol Scacchi in the -55 kg division, Andrea Busa of Hungary in the -65 kg category and Jodie Browne of Ireland in the -70 kg event.

Men’s Low Kick kickboxing

In the men’s Low Kick championships, first was awarded to Amin Guliyev of Azerbaijan in the -60 kg division, Abror Khakimov of Kyrgyzstan in the -71 kg category and Brazil’s Lucas Rafael Ferraz Dos Santos in the -81 kg segment.  

Men’s Point Fighting kickboxing

In the Men's Point Fighting competition, champions included Hungary's Bence Laszlo Zajacz in the -69 kg category alongside his compatriot Imre Lajos Fesu in the -79 kg bracket and Christopher John Aston from Great Britain in the -94 kg division.

Women’s Left Arm arm wrestling

In the women's Left Arm division, Esra Kirav from Turkey secured victory for the -55 kg division, Aigerim Karamanova from Kazakhstan claimed the -65 kg title, Sweden's Mona Ann-Sofi Reisek emerged as the champion in the -80 kg category, and Barbora Bajciova from Slovakia took the +80 kg division win.

Ukraine excelled in both Para events, with Alona Hornich taking first place in the Women's Left Arm Para Standing event and Olesia Bessalnova securing the gold in the Women's Left Arm Para Visual category.

Men’s Left Arm arm wrestling

In the men’s Left Arm division, Kazakhstan’s Yerdaulet Sarybay secured the -70 kg win with a victory by extra round, while compatriot Nurdaulet Aidarkhan took the -80 kg top spot. In the -90 kg division, Marius-aurel Jurovschi of Romania claimed victory, while Kazakhstan secured another two wins in the -100 kg and +100 kg categories, with golds awarded to Talgat Aktayev and Medet Kuttymuratovm, respectively.

The champion of the Men’s Left-Arm Para Standing division was Daniel Simon of Hungary, while the gold in the men’s Left-Arm Para Sitting category was awarded to Gokhan Seven of Turkey.

Women’s Fencing

The women's Foil team witnessed the UAE securing first place with a 45-13 win over Saudi Arabia. The Saudi team later rebounded to secure the bronze medal.

In the women's Sabre team event, Saudi Arabia emerged victorious, clinching the top spot by defeating the UAE 45-25.

Men’s Fencing

In the men's Sabre team event, Saudi Arabia was awarded the gold with a 45-33 win over Iraq. Additionally, Saudi Arabia captured the bronze by defeating the UAE 45-21.

For the men's Foil team category, Qatar emerged with the victory, beating Kuwait with a score of 45-40.


Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

Updated 20 December 2025
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Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

  • Despite falling behind early, Bologna equalized in the 34th minute before prevailing on penalties

RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second 2025/26 Italian Super Cup semi-final. The travelling Inter support brought their drums, colour and constant noise, blending with Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.

The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting an accurate cross from Alessandro Bastoni to score the opening goal of the night.

Inter immediately searched for a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute, feinting past Torbjorn Heggem before dragging his effort just wide of the post.

After Inter’s early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest, with Jens Odgaard leading much of the offence. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s advantage.

The energy among Inter supporters continued to build, with fans jumping in unison and lifting their scarves as they urged their side forward in search of a second goal.

That momentum was checked in the 34th minute, when a VAR review resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini slotted the spot-kick coolly past Martinez to bring I Rossoblu back level.

Inter pushed forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.

Hope briefly returned for the Nerazzurri when Bonny was brought down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the initial appeal for a penalty to be overturned following consultation with VAR.

Less than 10 minutes later, the stadium rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi in a triple substitution, Lautaro made an immediate impact but was unable to find the decisive goal before the end of regular time.

Bologna came within moments of snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save, sending the semi-final into a penalty shootout.

The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their penalties before goalkeepers intervened at either end. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to mirror the miss moments later.

Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia made his second save of the shootout, before Jonathan Rowe gave Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted to extend the contest, but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to send Bologna through.

The Rossoblu will now face Napoli in the Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park on December 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the first semi-final.