13th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament gets under way as home side strike gold, silver and bronze DUBAI: Emirati fencers opened their campaign with three medals – a gold, silver and a bronze - in the fencing competition at the 13th edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament. Organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) under the tournament slogan “Limitless Capabilities”, the annual sporting spectacle is being held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. The Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament is held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and under the directives of Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. UAE national team fencer Zainab Al Husseini showed her pedigree as she clinched gold in the women’s epee while defeating Sarah Besbes 15-11 in the final. UAE fencer Rawda Al Aleeli added a bronze medal after beating Lamar Al Nahla 15-11 in the third-place play-off. In the men’s epee competition, Emirati fencer Mohammed Al Mazmi secured the silver medal after he lost to Mohammad Rezaei Tadi 15-6, while the bronze medal went to Hassan Al Foudry following a 13-9 win over Alex Manrique. Other Emirati fencers also finished among the leading positions were Saleh Al Balushi who was placed fifth, while Imran Al Balushi and Khalifa Al Zarouni were both among the tournament’s top eight. The medal ceremony was conducted by Engineer Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Asian and UAE Fencing Federations and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Fencing Federation, alongside Musa Al Balushi, Secretary-General of the UAE Fencing Federation, Hassan Al Mazrouei, Director of the tournament, and Adel Al Bannai, Chairman of the tournament’s technical committee. Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi praised the organisational and technical outcomes of the event, describing the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament as “a major milestone and a highly important technical evaluation station” in the fencing calendar for UAE fencers and possible medallists at future international events. He said the competition places athletes “in the heart of fast-paced, high-challenge matches,” offering direct exposure that develops performance and translates accumulated experience into results on the podium. He added that the federation’s strategic focus is on expanding participation and improving the quality of physical and technical preparation, and said the tournament provides an opportunity to identify emerging talent to strengthen national teams, with an emphasis on sustaining achievements and reinforcing the standing of fencing locally and regionally. Meanwhile, competition across the overall tournament programme will continues with the International Padel Federation (FIP) tournament all set to conclude with the crowning of various winners, on Sunday. On Monday (February 23), the Nad Al Sheba International Padel Championship for national teams will commence, featuring Arab and international teams. This competition will run until February 27, and will be followed by the International Padel Federation junior category tournament from February 28 to March 5. Other events of the tournament will continue as usual with the cycling race also concluding on Sunday along with the badminton that is also scheduled to begin on Sunday and conclude on Monday. The Obstacle Course Race (OCR) will also continue with the final scheduled for February 24, while the jiu-jitsu will take place on February 24 and 25 and the road running race has been set for February 27. The 3x3 basketball will also continue and the final has been scheduled for March 3, while while the Wheelchair Basketball is being staged as usual at the Dubai Club for People of Determination in Al Ghusais. After the preliminary round matches, the competition will move into decisive rounds with the semi-finals to be held on March 2, the third-place match on March 3 and the final on March 4 in the main hall of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. The Tug-of-War preliminary rounds will commence on March 1 and run on till the final March 6. The popular volleyball competition will start on February 26 with participation from teams and players from major international clubs. The semi-finals have been slated for March 5, the third-placed match on March 6, while the tournament will conclude with the final on March 7.
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