Seven champions crowned in first Saudi National Games
Four men and three women boxers bagged titles in the inaugural Saudi Games held recently at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in the capital city of Riyadh.
Saudi Arabian Elite Club National Championships winners Rakan Abdul Razzaq Al-Thaqafi (men’s welterweight-67kg) and Salman Mirza Muhammad Hamada (men’s light heavyweight-80kg) sustained their dominance on local soil.
Abdulaziz Al-Otebi (bantam-54kg) and Muhammad Al-Kreidis (light-60kg) were the other gold medalists in the men’s division.
Eighteen women boxers competed in three weight categories at the Saudi Arabian National Games. Sarah Saeed Saad Al-Shahrani won the minimumweight (48kg) at the Riyadh Elite Boxing Championships but she was expecting a hard battle against the Club National Champion, Kulthum Aidarous Hantol in the first final. Al-Shahrani managed to win the title contest by split decision and earned the first historic female title in the Games.
Khadeja Al-Mahi was also gold medallist in Riyadh and she moved down to the women’s bantamweight (54kg) before the start of the National Games. She faced for the title a bronze medallist from the recent national event, Sarah Ibrahim Yahya and claimed a gold in the Games. Hadil Ghazwan Sobhi Ashour controlled all of her three contests in the National Games including the lightweight (60kg) final against Raghad Al-Nuaimi.
Besides the medals, the podium finishers also took home prize money from the historic event.
Saudi Arabian Boxing Federation Technical Director and former Australian national team head coach Kevin Smith will select the best boxers from the Saudi Games 2022 for the national squad that will compete in upcoming international tilts.
The Saudi Games is the biggest national sporting spectacle in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, featuring over 600 athletes and 2,000 technical and administrative supervisors representing more than 200 clubs across 45 sports.
The list of the winners at the Saudi Arabian National Games
Women’s Elite 50kg: Sarah Saeed Saad Al-Shahrani Women’s Elite 54kg: Khadeja Al-Mahi Women’s Elite 60kg: Hadil Ghazwan Sobhi Ashour Men’s Elite 54kg: Abdulaziz Al-Otebi Men’s Elite 60kg: Muhammad Al-Kreidis Men’s Elite 67kg: Rakan Abdul Razzaq Al-Thaqafi Men’s Elite 80kg: Salman Mirza Muhammad Hamada
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