Dubai: The UAE national team kicked off the padel competition on a resounding note with a well-deserved straight sets victory over Lebanon at the 13th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, on Monday.

The Emirati duo of Fares Al Janahi and Abdullah Al Abdullah dominated their opening match against Mark Bustani and Ralph Thomas before winning 6-1, 6-1. Francisco Jurado and Majid Al Janahi kept up the pressure with an identical win against Alex Bustani and Jad Salibi, while the UAE’s Inigo Giuffre and Salem Al Holi were made to work for a 6-2, 7-6 win against Tamim Halak and Freddy Stephan.

The teams padel tournament features eight teams, namely the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Morocco, Egypt and Iran.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, and under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, under the slogan “Limitless Capabilities”, the annual event is hosted at the sprawling Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

Morocco tames Iran, Egypt and Bahrain in marathon duel

With the home team having it easy, it was Morocco coming up with an impressive performance while winning 2-1 against fancied Iran. Morocco took the lead through the duo of Reda El Amrani and Mehdi Zaidi, while the pairing of Alami Mohammad and Adam Moammar made it 2-0, before Arsham Moradi and Arya Jafar pulled one back for Iran.

Meanwhile, the match between Egypt and Bahrain witnessed a high level of tactical display with the Pharaohs coming clean with a decisive 2-1 result. Egypt will have to thank the duo of Mohamed El Gabry and Mohamed Abou El Qassem as they displayed some excellent teamwork to give their team the lead. Ali and Hussein Dhawani leveled the score for Bahrain, only to see the pair of Ali Zaghloul and Sherif Makhlouf sealing off a fine 6-2, 6-4 win for Egypt.

Kuwait secure narrow win in ‘Gulf Derby’

In perhaps the most exciting match of the opening round, Kuwait gained a noticeable advantage following their narrow 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia in a match that had been billed as the ‘Gulf Derby’.

Abdulrahman Al Awadhi and Fawaz Al Ajmi did well to give Kuwait an early lead, while Hamoud Al Junaidel and Hussein Shams ensured they did enough to make it 2-0 in favour of the Kuwaiti side. The Saudi Arabian team displayed a strong showing in the third match, although a bit too late, with Omar Al Thaqib and Stam Al Sharhani winning their encounter.

Al Nasr dominates

The badminton competition set a new record with the participation of 225 players from various nationalities in all age categories. The winners in the different categories, including the Special Olympics category, were crowned by Her Excellency Noura Al Jasmi, President of the UAE Badminton Federation along with Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director; Adel Al Bannai, Head of the Technical Committee and Mahmoud Bassiouni, Regional Director of Pocari Sweat.

Players from Al Nasr Club dominated the Emirati categories with Hayat Khalifa Abdulrahman winning the girls’ U15 singles title and Mohammed Ali Al Ali claiming the boys’ singles title in the same category.

In the senior categories, Mayed Tariq Obaidullah won the men’s singles title and Ghadeer Ali Al Taheri secured the women’s singles crown. The duo of Sultan Ahmed Al Hamed and Mayed Tariq Obaidullah won the men’s doubles, while the pair of Samira Issa Al Balushi and Farah Ibrahim Al Hajji clinched the women’s doubles gold.

In the open and international categories, the competitions showcased great diversity and the brilliance of various academies and clubs came to the fore.

Leading the charge was Abhinav Thakur from the Battledore Sports Academy LLC who went on to win the men’s singles title, while Nurani Ratu Azzahra was crowned champion in the women’s category. In the mixed doubles, the duo of Andy Hamza Marwan and Nurani Ratu Azzahra secured first place for Abu Dhabi Badminton Club.

The tournament also featured a remarkable humanitarian and sporting gesture with the organisation of the Special Olympics (Unified Category) competitions, which were won by the duo of Asia Jabegu and Shan Tanu Sumesh.

Noura Al Jasmi: “Nad Al Sheba is a goldmine for talent”

Her Excellency Noura Al Jasmi expressed her pride in the sport’s growing success within the tournament. “We thank the Dubai Sports Council for its continued confidence in this event. The Nad Al Sheba tournament has become a cornerstone for supporting badminton,” she remarked.

Al Jasmi insisted on the event being an inspiring success story for sports in Dubai and in the UAE. “This tournament has not only promoted the sport but has also contributed in discovering national talent. Our very own Abdul Aziz became the first Emirati to win an international medal at the Asian Games, and he is definitely one of the discoveries of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament,” Al Jasmi revealed.

RESULTS

Padel Team Competition

UAE bt Lebanon 3-0

Morocco bt Iran 2-1

Egypt bt Bahrain 2-1

Kuwait bt Saudi Arabia 2-1

Badminton

Girls’ Singles (Under 15): Hayat Khalifa Abdul Rahman - Al Nasr Club

Boys’ Singles (Under 15): Mohammed Ali Al Ali - Al Nasr Club

Men’s Singles: Mayed Tariq Obaidullah - Al Nasr Club

Women’s Singles: Ghadeer Ali Al Taheri - Al Nasr Club

Men’s Doubles: Sultan Ahmed Al Hamed/Mayed Tariq Obaidullah - Al Nasr Club

Women’s Doubles: Samira Issa Al Balushi/Farah Ibrahim Al Hajji - Al Nasr Club

Mixed Doubles: Abdul Aziz Mohammed Yahya/Fatim Mohammed Al Dahouri - Al Nasr Club