JEDDAH, 30 December 2005 — Round 12 of the Saudi Soccer League witnessed another change in the tide as Al-Hilal regained the lead from Al-Shabab after thrashing Al-Abha 5-0 in Abha on Dec. 23. Shabab was slowed down with Al-Hazem after the 0-0 draw in Al-Rass. This gave Hilal the lead with 26 points and Shabab second with 25 points. Ahli continued to stay in third place in the past six rounds and scored an embarrassing draw against Taie in Hail after the 0-0 draw. Ahli is currently in third place with 18 points and continued to lose points by increasing the numbers of their draw matches to six. Qadiseya did not take advantage of the Ahli’s draw and remained in the fourth position with 16 points after a 1-1 draw against Wehda in Makkah. Ittihad is back in action with a victory against Al-Ansar in Madinah 4-0. Ittihad jumped to eighth position with 10 points and still have many matches left. This will add extra pressure on Ittihad, which will play many matches in the second stage of the Saudi league in order to make up for the pending matches from the first stage. Wehda, Taie, Hazem and Nasr are in the warm middle zone and Ittifaq, Abha and Ansar are in the danger zone. The Saudi league will resume Jan. 6 due to the beginning of the Crown Prince Cup soccer tournament.
Crown Prince Cup:
As expected, the big teams made it to the quarterfinals of the Crown Prince Cup soccer competition with Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nasr, Al-Hilal, Al-Shabab, Al-Qadiseya, Al-Wehda and surprised winners Al-Hamada qualifying. Ahli did not encounter any problems eliminating Abha 4-0. But it will face tough opposition next Sunday when it faces archrivals Ittihad, which qualified after securing a difficult win against Riyadh 1-0. The match is regarded very difficult for both teams as Ahli got a new coach who is promising to win against Ittihad, which are exhausted after international participation and already missing the star player Chico. Wehda and Nasr will come face to face in Makkah on Monday. Wehda qualified after winning against Faisaly 2-1 and Nasr defeated Ittifaq 1-0 in Dammam. Shabab will face Hamada next Monday. Shabab qualified after winning against Al-Hazem 3-2 and Hamada scored a huge win against Taie 4-3. The last match on Monday will be between Hilal and Qadiseya. Hilal qualified after defeating Ansar 1-0 and Qadiseya against Al-Rawda 8-0.
Hail Rally:
The Saudi Club for Cars arranged under the supervision of the Youth Welfare Presidency the third practical round for the cars that will participate at the Hail Rally 2006. The event, which started yesterday and will continue until today, is being hosted at the Half Moon Beach in the Eastern Province. Seven out 100 drivers will qualify to participate in the tournaments. Fourteen drivers were already qualified from Jeddah and Riyadh. People are encouraged to attend and support this tournament.
Weightlifting:
Bakur Abdulwahed, president of Saudi Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation and president of the Directing Committee of the weightlifting tournaments at the fifth Gulf Countries Counsel, attended the concluding ceremony held on Sunday. Contestants from Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait were participated in the tournament that took place at Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. The Kingdom was awarded first position in both age groups. The Kingdom received 44 out of 48 gold medals and four silver medals.
Equestrian Tournaments:
Buraidah again hosted the seventh equestrian race at the Equestrian Club Counsel Cup in Al-Qasim. The winner at the first open race for 1,600 meters was Farhoud from Al-Asayel Stable. The winner at the second race for novices, for 2,000 meters, was Hattan from Al-Muhal Stable. The winner at the third open race for 2,000 meters was Frad who belongs to Saad Al-Faheed. At the fourth open race for 2,000 meters, won by Amal Al-Riyadh from Al-Asayel Stable. Othman Al-Marshoud’s horse Taji won the fifth open race for 2,400 meters.
Archery:
The Saudi Arabia Archery Tournaments ended yesterday at the Olympic Field in Riyadh. Abdulaziz Al-Roudan was awarded first place at the contest. Second place went to Fahd Al-Amri, and third place went to Abdulbaset Al-Amri. Turki Al-Darbi took first place at the Olympic Archery contest, followed by Wahii Al-Amri and Khalid Al-Hazmi. “More plans for developing this sport will go on because we are aiming at improving this sport,” said Col. Mohandes Abdullah Al-Sagheer, secretary-general of the Saudi Archery Federation.
