Dubai: Fohood Zabeel and The Surprise opened their campaigns with contrasting wins as the Fifth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament got under way at the NAS Sports Complex late on Sunday.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President, UAE National Olympic Committee opened the annual tournament in the presence of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council and patron of the annual event.
There was a futsal exhibition match immediately after the opening ceremony where the Luis Figo-coached Green Team got the better of Falcao’s Blue Team 3-2. Abdullah Sultan cancelled out Subait Khater’s opener and then Freddy Kanoute, former African Player of the Year, put the Green team ahead 2-1. Sergio Oliveira prodded one home midway to further increase the Green team’s lead to 3-1, and then Mohammad Abdul Rahman pulled one back at the fag end as the match ended 3-2 in favour of Figo’s team.
In the volleyball competition, the Surprise Team secured a hard-earned 3-2 win against Al Hezm after Fohood Zabeel had scored a 3-0 win in straight sets against the Spider Team. With Camejo Durruthy Oreol and Leyva Martinez combining well, the Surprise Team won the first set 25-16. But Al Hezm fought right back to win the next two 25-17, 25-18. However, Surprise fought all the way to take the next two 25-19 and 15-12 and seal a fine win.
Meanwhile in the padel competition, potential finalists Sandy Farquharson and Javier Lopez and the pairing of Javier Molina and Emilio Misas got off to emphatic wins. Winners for the last two years, Farquharson and Lopez were dominant in their 6-1, 6-2 win over Ramon Perez and Cesar Herreros, while Molina and Misas were always in control in their 6-1, 6-0 result against Carlos Luna and Mohammad Al Janahi.
“For us it is one match at a time. I am 48 and no longer a player I once used to be,” Molina told Gulf News.
“Initially, it looked as though they might match us all along, but after the first two games we were more settled and got into a fine rhythm,” the Spaniard added.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan, this year’s NAS Ramadan Sports Tournament consists of nine sporting disciplines with a total prize fund of more than Dh6 million. Three new sporting disciplines such as fencing, a fitness challenge and football for the deaf have been added along with the other competitions in padel, volleyball, futsal, wheelchair basketball, road runs and road cycling.
RESULTS
VOLLEYBALL: Fohood Zabeel def. Spider Team 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19); The Surprise def. Al Hazm 3-2 (25-16, 17-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12).
PADEL: (Men’s Open) Sandy Farquharson/Javier Lopez def. Ramon Perez/Cesar Herreros 6-1, 6-2; Javier Molina/Emilio Misas def. Carlos Luna/Mohammad Al Janahi 6-1, 6-0.
