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Gulf Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Al Tadawi 1 win Volleyball Championship as 12th NAS Sports Tournament concludes
Hot favourites Al Tadawi 1 delivered a resounding final performance to swamp Al Hilal 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) to be crowned volleyball champions on the concluding night of the 12th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament at a jam-packed indoor stadium at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex on Thursday. Egged on by a huge, vociferous crowd supporting both teams in tandem, Al Tadawi 1 — made up of players from top Russian outfit, Dynamo Moscow — left nothing to chance as they played a totally controlled game to outdo Al Hilal in three straight sets. Al Hilal did seem to get the bearings in during the opening set as they matched Al Tawadi 1 point for point. But the closest they came was when they were tied at 23-23, only to see the unstoppable boys from Russia take it away 25-23. Al Hilal tried to fight back in the next set, only to see outside hitter Anton Semyshev come up with a match-defining performance of two serves, three blocks and the honour of being the top scorer on the night with 17 points as Al Tadawi 1 powered away to win the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-21. This was a worthy finale to the 12th edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, the largest sporting event of its kind. Launched and sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the tournament is held annually during the holy month of Ramadan at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, under the directives of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, under the slogan 'Unlimited Abilities'. The winners were honoured by Khalfan Belhoul, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, in the presence of Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; Abdullah Bin Damithan, CEO and General Manager of DP World in the GCC; Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council and Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director. The Al Tadawi 1 team received the gold medals and the tournament trophy, along with a cash prize of Dhs600,000. Al Hilal, mostly represented by players from Italy's Grottazzolina team, received their silver medals and a cash award of Dhs500,000. Al Ameed had to stay content with the bronze medal after having defeated Al Samawi 3-1, the previous night. There were a handful of individual awards bestowed on the final night with Al Hilal's Andrea Marquespo winning the Best Receiver award, while Al Tadawi 1's Maxim Sabshkov won the 'Best Server' prize and Al Tadawi 1's Dmitry Zhuk taking the award for the 'Best Blocker'. Outstanding for his scoring throughout the competition, Anton Gavarina from Al Samawi walked away with the award for the 'Best Hitter', while Al Hilal's Dusan Petkovic was adjudged the 'Best Scorer'. Khalfan Belhoul, on behalf of the organizing committee, paid tribute to Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al Marri for his unwavering support. He also honored key sponsors like DP World and Dubai Sports Channel, along with referees, officials, and administrative staff who contributed to the event's success. Padel competition concludes: Pablo Arriber and Cesar Freire won the UAE Padel Federation Local 20 Championship after defeating the pairing of Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Padel Federation and Javi Santonja in the final match. The winners were honoured by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports; Khalfan Belhoul, and Hassan Al Mazrouei. The ceremony was also attended by Dubai Sports Ambassadors Bacary Sagna, former French national team player, Arsenal and Manchester City Football Club, and winner of the English Premier League and FA Cup titles; Fadi El Khatib; and Eric Abidal, former French national team and Barcelona star and current CEO of Al Wasl Club. The 12th annual tournament featured over 8,000 athletes competing in 11 Olympic and community sports, including two newly introduced events. This year's lineup included running, cycling, volleyball, padel, tug-of-war, fencing, jiu-jitsu, wheelchair basketball, and obstacle course. The prize fund was raised to a record Dhs4.5 million, covering team awards and public prizes.
Gulf Today
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
National Guard retain Tug-of-War crown, Al Tadawi 1 set up title clash with Al Hilal
The National Guard created some history of their own as they successfully defended their Tug-of-War crown at the 12th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament being held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. Arguably the largest sporting event of its kind that has been launched and sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, this tournament is held annually during the holy month of Ramadan under directives of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Council. The competition, under the slogan 'Limitless Abilities', was attended by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Saif Al Sharqi, Vice President of the International Body Building Federation and President of the Emirates Body Building Federation; Major General Khalifa Rashid Al Hamli, Director of the Office of the Minister of Defence; Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary-General of the Dubai Sports Council; and Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director. Fully aware of the formidable challenge of defending their title in the Government Departments and Institutions category, the National Guard started strong, taking the first round for a 1-0 lead. However, the Ministry of Defence responded swiftly, claiming the second round and setting up a thrilling decider. The third round was close with the Ministry of Defence digging in deep to hold the defending champions at bay, till a crucial tug helped the Natural Guard successfully hold on to their title for yet another year. Earlier, the Land Forces team took third place after defeating the Ras Al Khaimah Civil Defence team 2-0. In the Junior category, Sharjah Self-Defence Sports Club edged past Sharjah Sports Council 2-1 to claim victory, while A25 Gym secured third place with a 2-0 win over Sharjah Academy for Police Sciences. In the Community category, Truss General Trading triumphed over Al Asifa 2-0, while Al Kawaser took third place, defeating IFBB Academy by the same score. Meanwhile, Al Tadawi 1 will meet Al Hilal in the final of the Volleyball Championship that will officially bring the curtains down on the 12th edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, late on Thursday. Watched by Abdullah Al Darmaki, President of the UAE Volleyball Association, and Stanislav Shevchenko, President of the Russian Volleyball Federation, both teams took the last step into the final in contrasting styles. Al Tadawi 1 secured an easy 3-0 win against Al Samawi, while Al Hilal overcame a minor hitch before securing a 3-1 win against Al Ameed in the second semi-final. Al Tadawi 1 were always in control with their outside hitter Anton Semyshev in top gear with 14 points, while opposite Maksim Sapozhkov gave full support with 12 points. Al Samawi tried to make a contest out of the match with Egor Bogachev and Mubarak Al Mansouri rising to the occasion. However, the Al Tadawi 1 firepower was too much to handle for the team largely consisting of players from Bani Yas Club, Abu Dhabi. In the second semi-final, Al Hilal felt the initial sting after losing the opening set 22-25 against Al Ameed. After that they remained in full control winning the next three sets, 25-23, 25-17 and 25-18 to earn the right to move into an engrossing final on Thursday. Tadawi 1, consisting of players mostly from Dynamo Moscow— past winners of the European Volleyball Federation Cup on four occasions and champions of the Russian Volleyball Championship nine times — have been the standout team during the course of their unbeaten march to the final. Al Hilal, featring players from Italy's Grottazzolina, is expecting to make an impression when they come up against a totally different school of volleyball on Thursday. 'Going by the form of the two teams, we can surely hope for a close final on Thursday,' Al Hilal coach Ortenzi, admitted. 'We want to stay positive and treat this as any match that is worth fighting for till the end. There is never a doubt in my mind that we can get this done. The only thing is that my players have to believe they can do it,' he added.
