Dubai: Dominant throughout the contest, the UAE's star athletes struck the bullseye consistently to secure a rich haul of three gold, three silver and five bronze medals at the Archery Championship of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Tournament 2022.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Council Executive Director of the Emirate of Dubai, and organised by the Dubai Sports Council, the NAS Sports Tournament has been one of the top sporting attractions during the Holy Month of Ramadan since 2013.

The UAE's first golden moments of the day came when the Emirati archers completed a clean sweep in the compound men's open category competition for people of determination.

Producing a flawless performance, Mohammed Ali Al Shehhi was on target to win gold. Habib Al Balushi finished second, taking silver, and Jamal Badawi took bronze.

UAE archers also had a clean sweep in recurve (men 18+) and recurve (women 18+) competitions.

In recurve (men 18+), Emirati Saud Mohammed Rashid won the gold, Sultan Ali Al Ketbi bagged the silver and Obaid Al Hammadi took the bronze.

In recurve (women 18+), all three UAE women archers representing Sharjah Women’s Sports Club took the three spots on the podium.

Emirati Aisha Al Ali won the gold, Fatima Al Balushi lifted silver medal and Hessa Al Awadhi won the bronze medal.

In the compound bow category for men over 18, Egypt’s Amr Mohamed Ghanem finished on top to take the gold, India’s Nishanth Vinod won the silver medal, and the UAE’s Ayoub Qassem Abdul Karim won the bronze medal.

In the recurve junior (from 14 to 17 years old) category, France’s Abdul Rahman City won the gold, Hassan Ibrahim from Comoros Island won the silver, and the UAE’s Khalifa Mohammed Salem Al Kaabi won the bronze medal.

In the recurve men’s coaches category, Sudan’s Mujahid Adam took gold, Egypt’s Osama Al Gamizi won a silver medal and his compatriot Ahmed Nabil won bronze.

The Padel Championship witnessed exciting duels in its various categories. The round of 16 matches were played in the advanced and beginner categories.

Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum and Sebastio Mundonca lost to Sami Al-Sayed and Xavier Mason 6-3, 4-6, 10-12. Roberto Rodriguez and Antonio Toni advanced into the next round after beating Issa Al-Marzouqi and David Pozo 6-0, 6-0.

Francesco Ferrao and Javier Rodriguez defeated Saeed Al-Marri and Muhammad Al-Marri 6-3, 6-0, and Roc Pallister and Robin de Larede downed Ranjan Pradeep and Max Picard 6-4, 7-5.

Sergio Ecardo and Gabriel Espellata defeated Youssef Al-Fili and Marwan Khoury 6-0, 6-0, and Khaled Al Shamsi and Abdullah Rayan qualified at the expense of Andres Rojas and Pedro Rojas.

In the beginner’s category, the duo Zayed Al Muhairi and Faris Al Mandoos reached the next round after beating Abdulaziz Al Zarooni and Saeed Ahli 6-2, 6-0.

The volleyball and wheelchair basketball tournaments will also begin on Thursday. A wheelchair basket will be held at the Dubai Club for People of Determination.

Meanwhile, Tadawi Medical Center joined the sponsorship roster of the ninth edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament.

The center also conducts medical examinations for the participating athletes and those involved in organizing the tournament.

The sponsorship agreement was signed at the headquarters of the Dubai Sports Council in the presence of Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, and Marwan Ibrahim Al Haj Nasser, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tadawi Medical Group.

Ibrahim expressed his happiness at signing the sponsorship and partnership agreement with the Dubai Sports Council to be a strategic partner for the ninth edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, in addition to being the title sponsor of the archery championship.

He stressed that this sponsorship provides the opportunity to contribute to achieving the great sporting and societal goals of this major sports tournament, launched and sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai.

Especially since the Tadawi Medical Center considers sports as one of the most important areas in the movement of society, and also contributes to providing medical support to many major sporting tournaments and events.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tadawi Medical Group attended the presentation ceremony of the archery competition at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, where he expressed his happiness at witnessing the strong competitions, the large public attendance and the distinguished encouragement.