Janahi opens Bahrain’s account with bronze
Manama : Fai Janahi notched the first medal for Bahrain at the fourth edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST), being held in Sharjah.
The young Bahraini athlete put on a spirited performance to secure a podium in the Kumite’s under-50kg weight category amidst stiff challenge from some of the Arab region’s best players.
She kicked off her campaign going down to Jordan’s Aseel Khattar 0-1 but came back into the competition to settle for the competition bronze beating Saudi Arabia’s Muneera Al Ruwaitai 9-4 in the third-place tie.
Elsewhere, the Youth and Sports Ministry team will begin their title race today with a match against Somalia’s Magadishu Club at 1 pm (Bahrain time) at Sharjah Girls Hall.
The Bahrainis had completed their preparations yesterday under national tactician Fadel Milad.
The lineup for today’s opener includes Sima Ali, Fatima Bushihri, Jamila Mohammed, Fatima Abdulreda, Hessa Ahmed, Maryam Hasan, Aisha Salman, Iman Al Hani, Razan Adel and three professionals – Alysha Janneen, Brandie Rene and Tabyatha Donne.
Early on, the tournament got underway with a colourful opening ceremony embellished by eye-catching performances from various artists at the iconic Al Majaz amphitheatre in Sharjah.
The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of AWST’s Supreme Organising Committee (SOC); Princess Reema Bint Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, President of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports and Princess Haifa Bint Mohammed Bin Saud Al Saud, Director General of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports.
Proceedings began with the keynote address delivered by Sheikh Khalid, who highlighted the role of AWST in promoting women’s sports across the Arab world.
Later, teams representing various Arab countries took part in an impressive march-past. Among the evening’s highlights were colourful performances by various artists that kept the audience spell-bound.
They danced while the background displayed the nine sporting disciplines: basketball, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, archery, shooting, fencing, show jumping, and karate, which is making its debut at AWST 2018.
Prominent among those who were present on the occasion were Khalid Abdulaziz, Egyptian Minister of Youth, Shaikha Hayat Bint Abdul Aziz Al Khalifa, member of the Bahraini National Olympic Committee and Chairperson of AWST follow-up and supervision; Sherif Al Aryan, Secretary General of the Egyptian Olympics Committee; Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director General of SWSF; and Nour El Sherbini, Egyptian world squash champion.
A total of 68 teams from 16 countries, represented by more than 1,000 athletes are taking part in the event. Countries participating in the tournament include hosts UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Somalia and Djibouti.
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