Emirati fencers clinch four medals at 12th NAS Sports Tournament

UAE fencers claimed four medals on the second day of the championship held as part of the activities of the 12th edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament in Dubai late on Monday.

It’s arguably the largest sports tournament of its kind, launched and sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence.

This annual event takes place during the holy month of Ramadan at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. Held under the guidance of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, and carried out under the slogan “Limitless Capabilities,” the tournament once again showcased an impressive performance by the home-grown fencers.

The winners were crowned by Engineer Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Asian, Arab and UAE Fencing Federations in the presence of Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director, Mahmoud Bassiouni, representative of Pocari Sweat, the tournament’s health hydration partner, and Abdul Moneim Amin Shams El Din, representative of Al Tadawi Healthcare Group, one of the tournament’s supporting partners, and Adel Al Bannai, Chairman of the tournament’s Technical Committee.

The UAE team captured two silvers and two bronze medals each in the men’s and women’s categories for a total haul of four medals at the end of the contest.

The UAE’s first silver medal came from Majid Mohammed following his 15-6 loss against Iran’s Mohammad Ismaili in the men’s epee, while the second silver came through Al Anoud Al Saadi as she went down 6-15 to Tunisian Olympian Sarah Besbas in the women’s epee.

The two bronze medals for the home team came from Khalifa Al Zarouni following his narrow 14-13 win against Egyptian Khaled Buhdeima, while Sheikha Al Za’abi took the bronze in the women’s epee after winning 15-12 against countrywoman Fatima Al Zahra Mohammed. The fencing championship had created quite a buzz as elite international fencers from different countries were competing in two epee competitions, namely an international men’s contest and a separate one for UAE athletes.

The elite competition attracted athletes from 13 countries, including Italy, Peru, Egypt, France, Tunisia, Slovakia, India, USA, Russia, Tajikistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the hosts.

Engineer Sheikh Salem was pleased with the success of the competition. “The Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament witnesses great development each year, especially the fencing championship, in which all fencers from around the world are keen to participate and compete, given its importance in honing skills and gaining new experiences.

“As we saw, the competition was honorable and sophisticated among the athletes, and we always count on this championship to discover Emirati talents and include them in our national teams. Thanks to organizing the fifth edition of the fencing championship at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, we succeeded in attracting the interest of many members of society in this sport, and we received many requests to participate in it. We were also able to attract many cubs and juniors to this ancient Olympic sport,” Sheikh Salem added.

“The participation of our national team in the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament contributes to supporting the strategy of the UAE Fencing Federation, which aims to develop and hone the skills of our national fencers through interaction with international players and Olympic champions, with an eye on future achievements at the continental and international levels.”

UAE Padel Team make strong start: The UAE Padel team defeated the Iranian team 2-1 as the Nad Al Sheba Padel Teams Championship got under way at the NAS indoor complex. The Emirati duo of Majid Al Janahi and Anao Ayats got their team off to a perfect start with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Iranian duo of Farsad Shahi and Arsham Moradi.

Iran dug in deep with Hami Golestan and Aria Rojani securing a 6-2, 7-6 victory against Fares Al Janahi and Inigo Joffre. But the UAE kept up a sustained pressure with Ignacio Villarino and Goinaga winning 6-1, 6-3 against Bahdoor Basirat and Amir Jamshedi.