Category: Sports

Manama, Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the General Sports Authority, the Khalid bin Hamad Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship 2024 will be held on Friday. The championship, organised by the Bahrain MMA Federation under the supervision of the Bahrain Combat Sports Council, will take place at Khalifa Sports City Arena. The organising committee has completed all preparations for the tournament, which will feature 11 teams: KHK MMA Team, Reza Martial Arts Centre, Spartan, Bahrain Fighters, Shams Martial Arts Academy, Ghost, Bahrain Self Defense, Madan Fitness Team, Wolf MMA , E7 Grappling Club , and Al Kaabi Fighter. These teams will compete in various weight classes in the sport of mixed martial arts. Omar Abdulaziz Bucheeri, the Director of the Khalid bin Hamad MMA Championship 2024, said that the organising committee has ensured the completion of all preparations. He added that the tourn ament venue is ready to host the competitions, expressing the committee's eagerness to make this event a success. He thanked His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, for his patronage of this championship, which reflects his keenness to support efforts aimed at elevating the level of Bahraini MMA sports. With the support of His Highness, the Kingdom of Bahrain has rapidly become one of the leading countries in MMA, achieving remarkable accomplishments in this sport. Bucheeri added that the Khalid bin Hamad MMA Championship is one of the tournaments that the Bahrain MMA Federation, led by Mohammed Ali Qambar, the President of both the Bahraini and Asian federations for MMA, seeks to give its own distinctive character. He noted that the championship features wide participation and is packed with heated competition among all participating teams, creating a thrilling atmosphere for the audience. Bucheeri said the champion will showcase promising talents, which motivates the federation to continue its e fforts in building national teams capable of competing and achieving more accomplishments for Bahraini sports in upcoming events. Bucheeri pointed out that in this edition of the championship, the organising committee dedicated over 200 prizes to the audience, as an appreciation for the role played by the audience in attending, supporting, and interacting. He said this significantly contributes to the success of the event. The Director of the Khalid bin Hamad MMA Championship 2024 concluded by wishing all teams the best of luck and success in this championship. Source: Bahrain News Agency

Paris, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), arrived in Paris today to attend the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 33rd edition of the Olympic Games will officially kick off tomorrow, Friday, and continue until August 11. This marks the third time that Paris will host the Games, following its previous hosting in 1900 and 1924, since the inaugural edition in 1896. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place outside the stadiums for the first time, with 85 boats sailing along the River Seine for a distance of more than 6 kilometres. Bahrain is participating for the eleventh time in the Summer Olympic Games, which started in 1979. Bahrain's Olympic debut was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and it has participated in every subsequent edition, most recently the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. During its participation in the last Olympic Games, Bahrain won a total of four medals; two gold and two silver. Runner Maryam Jamal became the first Bahraini and woman in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to win an Olympic medal for the Kingdom, securing gold in the 1500-metre race. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, runner Ruth Jebet claimed the gold medal in the 3000-metre steeplechase, runner Eunice Kirwa won the silver medal in the marathon, and runner Kalkidan Gezahegne earned the silver medal in the 10,000-metre race. Bahrain is participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics in five sports, including judo and weightlifting for the first time. It is competing in wrestling for the second time after the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Kingdom will also compete in swimming, in which it partook in seven Olympic editions (Los Angeles 1984, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020). Athletics has been present in all editions and remains the only sport in which Bahrain has won Olympic medals to date. The Kingdom is represented at the Paris Olympics by 14 athletes (8 females and 6 males). The athletics team comprises 8 runners: Birhanu Balew (5,000 and 10,000 meters), Salwa Eid Nasser (400 meters), Oluwakemi Adekoya (400 meters hurdles), Winfred Yavi (3,000 meters steeplechase), Nelly Jepkosgei (800 meters), Eunice Chumba (marathon), Rose Chelimo (marathon), and Tigist Gashaw (marathon). Bahrain will be represented by Gor Minasyan in weightlifting in the over 102kg category and Lesman Paredes Montano in the under 102kg category. The swimming team includes Saud Ghali, who will compete in the 200-metre breaststroke, and Amani Al Obaidli, who will compete in the 100-metre backstroke. In judo, Bahrain will be represented by Askerbey Jerbekoff in the under 81kg weight class, and in wrestling Ahmed Tajeddin in the under 97kg weight class. The official delegation, which will include members of the Board of Directors of BOC, heads of participating sports federations, and a representative of the General Sports Authority (GSA), will arrive in Paris today. The delegation members include Faris Mustafa Al Kooheji, Secretary General of BOC; Nibras Mohammed Ali Taleb, member of the Board of Directors of GSA; Eshaq Ibrahim Eshaq, member of the Board of Directors of BOC and President of the Weightlifting Federation; Ali Isa Ishaqi, member of the Board of Directors BOC; and Counselor Dr. Mohammed Mujbel, President of the Bahrain Swimming Association. The swimmers Saud Ghali and Amani Al Obaidli will have the honour of carrying the Kingdom's flag during the parade of participating countries at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee has mandated that both a male and female athlete be selected to carry the flag, promoting gender equality, replacing the tradition where only male athletes had carried the flag in previous editions. Swimmer Saud Salah Ghali started his international career with notable achievements at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) swimming championship in Doha, Qatar in 2016, since which he won multiple medals in Gulf and Arab competitions. He was selected for the Champion Making programme , overseen by the Olympic Committee, which facilitated his scholarship to Hungary for academic studies and professional training at a prestigious university. Swimmer Amani Al Obaidli, began her international career in 2023 when she participated for the first time in the 2023 Arab Sports Games. She continued to compete in Arab and Gulf tournaments, winning numerous medals. She currently resides in Australia, where she is focused on both her studies and training. Source: Bahrain News Agency

Doha: Al Shaqab, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), will organize Al Shaqab Summer Show Jumping League competitions on Friday. The competitions will be held at the Longines Indoor Arena at Al Shaqab, with the aim of providing the opportunity for young riders participating in the Al Shaqab Summer Camp to showcase their skills and strive for excellence in an atmosphere full of enthusiasm and excitement. Through the league competitions, Al Shaqab seeks to qualify riders for international and regional competitions, and hone their skills to become future champions who embody the values of sportsmanship, unity and achievement. The competition in the Al Shaqab League is divided into Preliminary Category 1 (40 cm high), Preliminary Category 2 (60 cm high), Preliminary Category 3 (80 cm high), and Preliminary Category 4 (100 cm high). Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatari youth team ended their matches in the group stage of the 22nd Asian Volleyball Championship under 20 years, currently being held in Indonesia and will conclude on July 30. The Qatari team lost Thursday to Iranian counterpart (0-3) in their match that took place within the second group competitions. Today's match is the third and final for the Qatari team in the group stage, in which they began their participation with a loss to China, then lost to Chinese Taipei. Friday, will be a rest day for all teams participating in the championship, and the competitions will resume on Saturday. 16 teams are participating in tournament, divided into 4 groups. The first group includes the teams of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Australia, and Hong Kong, the second group includes the teams of Qatar, Iran, China, and Chinese Taipei, the third group includes the teams of India, Bangladesh, Japan, and Kuwait, while the fourth group includes the teams of South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. Source: Qatar N ews Agency

Al Shaqab-owned colt Afreen Al Shaqab claimed the gold medal at GCAT Valkenswaard 2024 - Yearling Colts Championship (Class YCC) held in the Netherlands as part of the Global Champions Arabians Tour 2024. Afreen Al Shaqab outperformed D Borkan of the Dubai Arabian Horse Stud (silver medal) and Azzaam Al Amal of the Azzaam Al Amal Partnership (bronze medal). Qatar Foundation's Al Shaqab is participating with a group of special Arabian horses in this round. Teha Al Shaqab won bronze in the Yearling Fillies Championship (Class YFC), while Aijana won bronze in the Senior Mares Championship (Class SMC). The Global Champions Arabians Tour 2024 kicked off in Doha and then was held in Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Cannes, and Valkenswaard. Its next stage will be in Rome and it is set to conclude in Riyadh. Source: Qatar News Agency

German tennis player Angelique Kerber (Former world number one) announces retirement after completing her participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics. "I can definitely say that I will not forget Paris 2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player," the 36-year-old Kerber said in a statement. The German tennis player has returned to competition this year after an 18-month hiatus, but was unable to get back to her previous level and regain momentum. The tennis competitions at the Paris Olympics will be held from July 27 to Aug. 4, at the Roland Garros courts. Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatari youth team lost to its Chinese counterpart 0-3 in their match played on Wednesday in the second group stage of the 22nd Asian Volleyball Championship U-20 , which is currently being held in Indonesia and concludes on July 30. The rest of the matches that took place Wednesday witnessed the victory of Kazakhstan over Vietnam (3-1), Indonesia over Saudi Arabia (3-0), South Korea over Thailand (3-1), Iran over China Taipei (3-0), and Hong Kong over Australia (3-0). The Qatari team will play on Thursday their third and final match in the group stage, the Iranian counterpart. The Qatari team opened their matches in the tournament on Tuesday, with a loss to the Chinese Taipei team (0-3). 16 teams are participating in the tournament, distributed into 4 groups, where the first group includes the teams of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Australia, and Hong Kong, the second group includes the teams of Qatar, Iran, China, and Taipei, and the third group includes the teams of India, Bangladesh, Japan, and Kuwait, and the fourth group includes the South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan teams. Source: Qatar News Agency

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted the French Alps as the hosting location of the XXVI Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2030. It also elected Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 as Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games host. France, host of the 2024 Summer Olympics, to kick start on Friday, had organized previous Winter Olympics editions: Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968, and Albertville in 1992. Source: Qatar News Agency