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-Nassr retain women’s volleyball title at Saudi Games
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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
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.”
