Sharjah Women's Sports Club archers hit bull’s eye, Syria’s Hind win table tennis gold
- 12 Feb 2024
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
Hitting the right target, the Sharjah Women's Sports Club team clinched a gold medal in the compound bow category of the archery competition at the 7th edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST 2024).
The showdown, which took place at Al Bataeh Club on Sunday, saw the host team emerge victorious against the Abu Dhabi Archery Club in the grand finale.
Sharjah sealed victory with a compelling 209 to 151 points, outperforming Abu Dhabi across four final rounds with scores of 53-33, 53-38, 53-38, and 50-42.
The victorious Sharjah team were composed of Amina Al Awadhi, Fatima Ahmed, and Hamda Al Mazmi.
In individual competitions, Amina Al Awadhi of the Sharjah Women's Sports Club won gold in the compound bow following a thrilling final against Kuwaiti Hanan Al Miyaas.
The match, extended over five rounds, ended in Al Awadhi's favour, scoring 136 to 131 points.
In the recurve bow competition, Bahrain's Suha Sheikh clinched the gold medal in the individual category, overcoming Saudi Sama Kanfer, who bagged the silver medal in a closely contested final, concluding with a score of 5-4.
Alia Al Ali from the Abu Dhabi Archery Club secured the bronze medal after winning against Bahraini Sarah Arzooq.
Al Thuqbah Club from Saudi Arabia snatched the gold medal in the recurve bow team category after a 6-0 win against the Sharjah team comprising Hessa Al Awadhi, Mariam Al Saigh, and Meera Al Saigh, who clinched the silver medal. The bronze medals were awarded to the Bahraini Club, which included the trio Mariam Anbar, Mariam Ahmed, and Suha Sheikh, following their victory over the Abu Dhabi Archery Club with a score of 6-2.
The archery event featured intense competitions in recurve and compound bow disciplines, with the participation of six clubs, including Saudi Arabia's Al Thuqbah Club, the Nile Club from Sudan, Kuwait Club, and Bahrain Club, in addition to the Sharjah Women's Sports Club and Abu Dhabi Archery Club from the UAE.
Egypt's Sporting Club were crowned the volleyball champions after their easy 3-0 victory over Kuwait's Salwa Alsabah in the final.
UAE's Sharjah Women's Sports Club clinched third place and bagged bronze with a significant 3-2 win over Lebanon's Byblos on Monday.
The Egyptian champions concluded the final match with a clean sweep in three sets (25-21, 25-5, and 25-16), fulfilling their dream of winning the title after finishing second in the 6th edition of AWST.
The Sharjah team secured the bronze medal in the tournament with a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Lebanon's Byblos after a five-set match. The host team led in the first and second sets (27-25 and 25-15). Although a win in the third set would have clinched the match, the Byblos players had a different agenda, delivering a stellar performance to win the third and fourth sets (25-20 and 25-20), leading to a fifth set to decide the coveted bronze. The Sharjah players regained momentum and secured the set and match result (15-8).
Karim Ben Ayad, coach of the Sharjah Women's Sports Club, expressed his satisfaction with the players' performance despite losing the third set that could have secured the match early in their favour. He noted that the team persevered and performed well to finish the fifth set.
The coach extended his gratitude to Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Sharjah Women's Sports, for her patronage of the tournament, which has enabled female athletes across various sports to play in a professional atmosphere that hones talents and provides them with a unique experience.
Elsewhere, Syria’s Hind Zaza secured a gold medal in the individual table tennis competition.
Hind secured the win on Sunday in the final match against Egypt's Reem Al Iraqi with a score of 3-2, who took home the silver. The bronze medal was awarded to Bahraini Mariam Abdullah and Egypt's Hanaa Ibrahim.
The table tennis competition concluded with an awards ceremony for the winning players and teams. Egypt's Enppi won the team title, crowned with the gold medal, while Bahrain's Al-Ahli Bahraini received the silver medal, and Jordan's Hammadah secured the bronze medal.
In the double competition, Bahraini athletes Mariam Abdullah and Amrita Amit clinched the gold medal, leaving the Egyptian duo Reem Al Iraqi and Fatima Alaa Al-Din with the silver medal. Meanwhile, the bronze medal was awarded to the Kuwaiti players Mariam Abdul Rahim and Manwa Al-Shammari and the Syrian players Hind Abdul Raouf and Ibaa Ali.
