Golden triumphs during day 12 of Saudi Games 2023

1 / 2
The Saudi Games is the biggest national sporting event held annually in the Kingdom. (Supplied)
2 / 2
The Saudi Games is the biggest national sporting event held annually in the Kingdom. (Supplied)
Short Url
Updated 05 December 2023
Follow

Golden triumphs during day 12 of Saudi Games 2023

  • Winners receive medals from Princess Delayel bint Nahar Al-Saud, other leading figures
  • Athletes compete in table tennis, karate, handball, basketball, fencing, Thai boxing, futsal competitions

RIYADH: Princess Delayel bint Nahar Al-Saud, the deputy director of the Saudi Games, on Monday crowned the winners in the para table tennis competition at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex Paralympic Hall.

Al-Riyadh’s Ghaliah Al-Anzi secured the gold medal, Renad Al-Rehaili from Al-Sharqiya claimed silver, and bronze was presented to Al-Riyadh’s Maryam Al-Myrisl.

The princess also handed out awards to the winners in the women’s fencing contest, held at the Riyadh Club. In the epee category, Al-Shabab’s youth player Fawzya Al-Khibiri retained her Saudi Games gold medal title. Al-Nahda’s Nada Abed took silver, and Layan Ahmedo and Dana Al-Qassem from Al-Shabab both received bronze.

Jana and Mariam shine in karate:

Adwa Al-Araifi, assistant minister of sports affairs, presented awards to the winners in the women’s open-weight karate competitions, staged at King Saud University.

Maryam Al-Salah of Al-Hilal won the gold medal, while Samar Mokhtar from Al-Farouk took home the silver. Al-Nassr’s Noura Al-Rashed secured bronze.

In the women’s open-weight youth category, Hajer’s Jana Al-Omarin took the gold, Al-Hilal’s Jwan Feteiha silver, and Al-Ittihad’s Rana Faiad bronze.

Hajer takes the youth karate gold:

Hajer’s Abdullah Al-Garni secured the gold medal in karate’s under-55 kg men’s youth category, which took place at King Saud University. Khaled Al-Otaibi from Al-Ahli Club received silver, and Al-Saffa’s Ali Al-Aryani the bronze.

Mahdi Al-Munjem from Okh won gold in the under-61 kg category, silver went to Hajer’s Omar Shaman, and bronze to Bassam Shafei from Al-Hilal Club.

Hajer’s Abdulaziz Al-Saif scooped the gold medal in the under-68 kg category, while Al-Safa’s Haitam Oufkir took silver, and Al-Ahli’s Fahad Al-Otaibi bronze.

Al-Safa’s Abdullah Al-Qahtani won gold in the under-76 kg class, Hajer’s Enad Al-Mubarak silver, and Hamza Rami from Al-Nahdah Club claimed bronze.

In the over-76 kg competition, Abdulaziz Mansour from Al-Shabab Club was the gold-medal winner, with Hajer’s Fazaa Al-Saiar taking silver, and bronze going to Al-Fateh’s Yousef Al-Abdulazeem Safa.

Al-Hilal dominates karate with three gold medals:

Al-Hilal’s Saud Al-Basher secured the gold medal in the under-60 kg category in the karate competitions, also held at King Saud University. His teammate, Turki Al-Nami, won silver, and Saud Al-Dossari from Al-Nassr Club claimed the bronze.

Omar Al-Azmi from Al-Nassr won gold in the under-67 kg category, followed by Al-Ittihad’s Fahd Al-Khathami with silver, and Al-Ahli’s Anas Basha taking the bronze medal.

In the under-75 kg category, Ali Burnawi from Al-Ittihad secured the gold medal, Ali Mugari from Al-Safa Club the silver, Al-Hilal’s Majed Al-Khalifah the bronze.

Firj Al-Nashiri from Al-Hilal Club won gold in the under-84 kg class, with his teammate Mohammed Al-Maliki clinching silver. Al-Nassr’s Anas Al-Zahrani received the bronze.

Al-Hilal’s Sanad Sufyani secured gold in the over-84 kg category, and Ibrahim Al-Marzooq of the same club, took silver. Al-Safa’s Zayed Al-Bishi was the winner of the bronze medal.

Karate gold for Hajer youth:

Secretary-general and CEO of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Abdulaziz Baeshen, awarded the medals for the karate winners.

Abdullah Al-Garni took home the gold in the youth under-55 kg category at King Saud University. The silver medal was won by Hajer’s Khaled Al-Otaibi, while Ali Al-Aryani from Al-Saffa secured the bronze.

In the men’s over-76 kg category, Abdulaziz Mansour from Al-Shabab Club won gold, followed by Fazaa Al-Saiari taking silver, and Yousef Al-Abdulazeem securing bronze.

Handball victories for Al-Qarah, Al-Khaleej, and Al-Safa:

In the men’s handball competitions, Al-Qarah defeated Al-Jeel 30-24 in the first group match held at King Saud University’s Sports Arena. Al-Khaleej overcame Al-Muheet 39-21, and Al-Safa defeated Al-Njoom with a score of 65-19 in the second group.

Al-Rawdah will face Al-Noor in the third group, while Al-Adalah will play against Al-Hada. Al-Wehda will compete against Al-Hazem in the fourth group.

Three matches in youth handball:

Al-Wehda defeated Al-Hazem 25-15 in the first group match at King Saud University’s Sports Arena, and Al-Noor secured a 32-18 victory over Al-Hada in the same group. Al-Khaleej will play Al-Ibtisam in the third group, and the second group will see Al-Ahli versus Mudhar and Al-Hilal take on Al-Qarah.

Women’s basketball semi-finals begin:

Jeddah United women’s basketball team began their campaign to defend their title with a victory over Al-Qadisiyah, winning 60-20 in the first match of the quarterfinals.

The Al-Ittihad team defeated Al-Nassr 48-36, while Al-Hilal overcame Al-Ahli 49-42. Jeddah United will next face Al-Ittihad, and Al-Hilal will play against Al-Asima.

Men’s basketball semi-finals begin:

The men’s basketball semi-finals take place at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex Sports Arena. Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal will open the matches, followed by Al-Nassr against Ohod.

Al-Nassr dominates youth fencing gold:

Al-Nassr’s athletes claimed the podium in the youth foil events. Gold was awarded to Saud Al-Rasheed, while Abdulaziz Al-Mugairen took silver, and Fares Al-Omair and Abdulaziz Hatem Al-Tuwaijri received the bronze.

In the men’s youth sabre category, gold was awarded to Al-Adalah’s Jehad Al-Obaid. Silver was presented to Al-Omran’s Ali Saeed Al-Hashem, and Al-Adalah’s Ahmed Al-Omran and Al-Watani’s Abdulsalam Turk Al-Anazi secured bronze.

In the youth men’s epee fencing category, Hassan Abed from Al-Nahda Club won gold, Al-Hilal’s Ahmed Hzazi took silver, and Youssef Al-Banai from Al-Hilal and Saleh Sultan Al-Sudais from Al-Nassr claimed bronze.

In the youth women’s sabre division, Al-Shabab’s Talene Al-Kudmani clinched the gold while her teammate, Zilal Ahmado, bagged silver. Luluh Al-Buqmi from Okaz and Al-Ettifaq’s Aleen Khalid Al-Amoudi took home the bronze.

Hattan wins gold in Thai boxing:

Hattan Al-Saif secured the gold medal in the women’s Thai boxing 57 kg category at King Saud University. Abdulrahman Al-Olayeq, the former secretary-general of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, and Rian Al-Ahmad, a Saudi Arabian Thai Boxing Federation board member presented the awards.

Ghadah Al-Shehri won the silver medal, while Dana Al-Ghussein and Reema Al-Ferdews received bronze.

Champions crowned in men’s Thai boxing:

Ahmad Rosli won the gold medal in the 57 kg men’s Thai boxing category, staged at King Saud University. Khalid Al-Dawalibi took the silver, and Alaraa Al-Amoudi and Abdullah Mohammed received the bronze.

Othmane Essaadaoui clinched the gold medal in the 63.5 kg category, with Abdullah Al-Qahtani taking silver, and Mujtaba Al-Zaki and Mehtab Khan bronze.

In the 75 kg class, Soufiane Marzaq was the gold-medal winner, while silver was presented to Abdulrahman Bajbaa. Ali Najee and Amer Al-Anzi both came away with the bronze.

Al-Riyadh wins gold in men’s futsal:

Al-Riyadh team claimed the gold medal in men’s futsal after defeating Al-Nassr 4-3. Al-Ittihad secured bronze after winning 8-5 against Al-Qadisiyah.

Dr. Khalid Bin Muqrin, board member of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, and former Saudi football star Majid Abdullah handed out awards to the winners.


Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty

Updated 04 February 2026
Follow

Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty

  • Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt

CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.

Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.

The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.

“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.

“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.

“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”

Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.

“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.

“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”

Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.

“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.

“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”

Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.

The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.

“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”

Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.

“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.

“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”