Dubai: Dubai Municipality will meet Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, while Dubai Public Prosecution will take on Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) in the semi-finals of the wheelchair basketball competition at the Seventh Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.

Dubai Municipality topped Group A, while Dubai Public Prosecution ended at the top of Group B.

In the final round of preliminary round matches, Dubai Municipality defeated Al Ansari Exchange 78-10 to end with four wins from as many matches, while DEWA blanked Dnata 20-0. In Group B, Dubai Public Prosecution defeated Dubai Health Authority 74-12 and Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services beat Al Bustan 37-14 to cement their rightful spots.

Meanwhile, Osama Al Shafar, President of the Asian Cycling Confederation and UAE Cycling Federation, has hailed the impact of the NAS Cycling Challenge on the growth of the sport within the UAE. A part of the NAS Ramadan Sports Tournament since the first year, the two-night Seventh NAS Cycling Challenge came concluded late on Saturday with more than 400 participants competing in three different categories over a distance of 77km.

More than 650 participants had taken part in seven categories on the opening night and Al Shafar said those impressive numbers are a testimony to the growth of cycling here. “When I took over the reins of the UAE Cycling Federation, it was also the first year of the NAS Cycling Challenge, and the number of registered cyclists back then was 800. Today, the number of registered cyclists has crossed 4,000 cyclists.

“If you look at the numbers at the NAS Cycling Challenge, we had 200 cyclists take part in the first year and now in this seventh edition, we have seen more than 1,050 participants. So, there seems to be a direct relation between the growth of the NAS Cycling Challenge and the growth in the number of registered cyclists in the country,” he added.

Dubai Police stole the limelight on the second night with Samah Khaled winning the Open Women’s category and Mansour Al Baloushi topping in the UAE National men’s category. A Jordanian, Khaled clocked two hours, 7 minutes and 15.791 seconds to finish ahead of Denmark’s Helle Von Echt (2:07:16.519) leaving Emirati Safia Al Sayegh (2:07:16.612) in third place.