Sports | Sunday 4 June, 2017 5:13 am |

Sharjah Ladies team has been crowned champions of the basketball competition of the ninth edition of the Ramadan Women’s Sports Gathering, which concluded yesterday. The team clinched the tournament’s title after defeating the Bin Hamooda Chevrolet team with a total score of 55-38 derived from four rounds of 13-12, 16-9, 14-9 and 12-8.

 

Al Nasr Ladies team came in at third place after defeating the Kuwaiti Salwa Al Sabah team with a score of 62-26 from the rounds 17-9, 17-3, 6-3 and 12-11. The two teams played a hard-fought game, with Al Nasr team’s players including professionals from the national women’s basketball squad.  

 

Consisting of the three disciplines of volleyball, basketball and shooting, the ninth edition of the Ramadan Women’s Sports Gathering was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and Chairperson of the Sharjah Women’s Sports Foundation (SWSF), the organisers of the event.

 

The closing ceremony of the tournament was held in the presence of Khalid Eisa Al Midfa, Assistant Secretary General of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Abdul Aziz Al Noman, Secretary General of the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC) and Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director General of SWSF and member of SSC; and Abdul Latif Al Fardan, Vice President of the Emirates Basketball Federation.

 

Khalid Al Midfa praised the organising of the women’s sporting event for the ninth consecutive year in Sharjah during the holy month; an event that he said contributes to elevating the readiness of its sportswomen to participate in national teams. He stated that all credit should go to SWSF, which he highlighted as being an invaluable partner in the evolution and excellence of women's sports in the UAE.

 

Abdul Aziz Al Noman said the annual Ramadan Women’s Sports Tournament is a premier event that helps develop women's sports in Sharjah and across the UAE. He referred to the increasing number of female players participating in different disciplines and highlighted their involvement in shooting, which has resulted in the nurturing of an elite group of professional female target shooters. Al Noman revealed that two women’s shooting clubs were recently inaugurated in the UAE, one in the Central region and one in the Eastern Region, bringing the number of ladies shooting clubs in the UAE to three. He said that these two new organisations will have a hugely important positive Impact on the development of the sport in the country.

 

Nada Askar Al Naqbi extended her profound thanks and appreciation to Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi for her unremitting support for women’s sports in the country and for her patronage of the ninth edition of the annual event. She also thanked SSC for supporting the tournament, as well as all the other parties that had contributed to making it such a success. She noted that the tournament had been instrumental in preparing players for the forthcoming fourth edition of the Arab Women Sports Tournament.

 

Noor Diab, administrator of the basketball team at Sharjah Sports Club, thanked SWSF for organising the tournament, which she said has proven to be highly successful. She attributed her team’s win to team spirit, perseverance and respect for its opponents.

The week-long Ramadan Women’s Sports Tournament saw the participation of 350 female athletes from 20 sports clubs and private institutions from across the UAE. The ninth edition of the event saw a women’s basketball team from Kuwait participating in the tournament for the first time.