UAE’s female athletes dominated the athletics competitions of the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) 2020 by securing podium positions in the long jump, hammer throw and 400m sprint contests.

The Saturday’s contests included long jump, hammer throw, and sprint contests in the 100m, 400m, 1,500m and 5,000m categories, as well as 100m hurdle races.

Sharjah Women’s Sports Club’s athlete Latifa Al Kaabi finished on top with a sensational jump covering a horizontal distance of 5.24m. Only 0.2m short was Kuwaiti Al Fatat Sports Club’s Mariam Kathem, who clinched silver, followed by long jumper Mona Jihad, who represented Bahrain’s Al Ahli Club.

In hammer throw category, Omani athletes won gold and bronze. Topping the leaderboard with a 47.11m throw was Hana Saed Al Toqeyah from Al Bashair Club, while her team-mate Duha Hamad Al Sanaweyeh finished in third place with her 37.19m throw. The UAE’s Wedad Ibrahim from Sharjah Women’s Sports Club secured her place on the podium too, with a silver-winning 43.44m throw.

In the 400m sprint, Bahrain’s Al Ahli Club extended the winning streak at AWST 2020 with Eman Issa Jasem reaching the finish line in a spectacular 56:8 seconds and securing gold for her country. Her team-mate Salha Jasem finished second clocking 1:05:6 on the stopwatch. Just three fractions of a second behind the runner-up was Emirati sprinter, Buthaina Al Suwaidi who covered the 400m track in 1:05:9 minutes.

The 5,000m category was also dominated by the Bahraini athletes. Al Ahli Club’s Ponito Edaw finished first, clocking an unbeaten 16:54:3 minutes. Raghad Khaled Al Salmani from Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nora University Club crossed the finish line after, covering the 5km track in 30:23:4 minutes.

Bahraini athletes ended their participation in athletics competitions on Saturday by winning gold and silver medals in the 1,500m category. Marta Hermato 4:22:8-minute time recorded a gold finish, and Manal Al Bahrawi finished second with a 4:47:6-minute finish. Amal Al Romi from Kuwait’s Al Fatat Sports Club was a close third, finishing the race in 4:49:9 minutes.

In 100m hurdle competition, Kuwait’s Dai Al Malaa exceled in the 100m hurdle as she scooped after crossing the finish line in exactly 20 seconds. The silver medal was won by Saudi Arabia’s Noura Al Haji from Princess Noura University Sports Club, who finished in 23.9 seconds.

Meanwhile, Al Dhaid Sports Club was the scene of fierce competition on Sunday as shooters aimed for top spots in the 25m pistol team competition.

The Omani shooting squad consisting of Wadha Al Balushia, Suhier Al Jahmania, and Houreh Al Yahyaiah nailed the gold medal with a total of 1677-36X at the end of the event.

The Bahraini team comprising Moza Ali, Aisha Al Buraiki, and Mariam Al Qasimi took home the silver medal after accumulating 1628-24X. The UAE shooters, Maitha Al Naiara, Fatima Al Kaabi, and Afraa Al Shamisi, from Sharjah Women’s Sports Club, clinched the bronze medal with a 1574-26X tally at the end of the competition.

Balushia and Yahyaiah also dominated the 25m pistol individual competition by securing gold and a bronze medal, with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Bahrain’s Aisha Al Buraiki won the silver medal with 19 points.

At the end of the shooting competitions on Sunday, the Bahraini team received the tournament’s Supremacy Cup for placing first, winning 8 medals in total (3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals).

The Omani shooters bagged 7 medals: 3 gold and bronze each and 1 silver. The UAE athletes secured 4 medals, two each of bronze and silver

On Sunday, the basketball quarter-finals began with a one-sided game between Alegria’s Le Groupement Sportif des Petroliers and Syria’s Al Sahel Sports Club. The Algerian team won all 4 quarters and secured an easy win with a final score of a 57-40.

Earlier, four matches were held on Saturday. Tunisia’s Al Amal Sportif and Al Watan Al Qabali secured a valuable win against KSA’s Elite Athletes Club, 101 – 55. Jordan’s Fuheis Youth Club took on Syria’s Al Sahel Sports Club in a well-fought match that ended with a 3-point lead for the Jordanian team, 55-52. The third game on Saturday saw UAE’s Sharjah Women’s Sports Club secure a massive win with a 16-point advantage against Kuwait’s Al Fatat Sports Club. The game ended 91 - 75 at the final whistle.    

The final game of the day ended with the Egyptian Sporting Sports Club securing an easy win against Bahrain’s Al Riffa Sports Club 86 – 49.

The volleyball matches continued on Saturday with Algeria’s Le Groupement Sportif des Petroliers winning a 3-set match against Jordan’s De La Salle Club with a final score of 75 – 44. Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Club Sportif Sfaxien secured an easy 3-0 win against KSA’s Princess Nora University Club, with a score of 75 – 17.

In the final game on Saturday, Egyptian Sporting Sports Club took on Sharjah Women’s Sports Club. After losing the first set, the Egyptian team dominated the remainder of the game with a final score of 96-80 points in a 3-1 set match.