NAS Ramadan Sports gets underway with padel tennis

The fourth NAS Ramadan Sports Tournament was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year there are seven disciplines - Futsal, Volleyball, a 10km Road Run, a 75km Cycling Race, Wheelchair Basketball, Archery, Goalball and Deaf Football - all vying for a total prize fund of Dh8 million.

Accompanying Sheikh Ahmed was Mattar Al Tayer, Deputy Chairman of DSC, Ibrahim Abdul Malik, General Secretary of General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, President of Tennis Emirates and Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of DSC along with a host of other top dignitaries that included Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez.

The competitions will get underway with the preliminary group matches of the volleyball tournament.

The opening ceremony consisted of a light and sound show that emphasized Dubai’s drive towards a better happiness index.

There was an exhibition Goalball match in which the UAE Whites came back from a one-goal deficit to beat the UAE Reds 4-2 with Nawaf Khalfan scoring all four goals for the winners.

“This year’s tournament has the theme of ‘Limitless Abilities’ and with that aim we have included two more sporting disciplines for special needs athletes,” said Hareb.

“In keeping with the wishes of Sheikh Hamdan we have added new sports for special needs persons including Goalball and Deaf Football to go along with the Wheelchair Basketball. This event has grown in just three years and I am confident that this year too we have a wonderful series of competitions that will bring the entire community together,” he added.

Meanwhile, the padel tennis competition got under way at the NAS padel courts. The Real Racquet Academy teams got off to winning starts in the teams’ competition.

The men’s doubles tournament also started with Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios securing a 6-1, 6-1 win over Mohammed Al Mansoori and Xavier Masson in the only match played.

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