UAE’s Yas Marina Circuit to stage World Triathlon Championship Series

UAE’s Yas Marina Circuit to stage World Triathlon Championship Series
World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi will take place at Yas Marina Circuit on March 3-4. (YMC)
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Updated 19 February 2023
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UAE’s Yas Marina Circuit to stage World Triathlon Championship Series

UAE’s Yas Marina Circuit to stage World Triathlon Championship Series
  • Routes and medals for the season-opening event from March 3-4 have been unveiled

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Sports Council has announced the official routes for the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Abu Dhabi, presented by Daman, with the Yas Marina Circuit selected as the venue.

Taking place on March 3 and 4, the season-opening race will see the world’s best professional and amateur triathletes compete at one of the UAE capital’s iconic sporting destinations, as the prestigious competition returns to the home of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix.

The event, which is expected to attract thousands of local, regional and international triathletes, features 15 race categories including the Elite Men and Women, Elite Para and Age Group, Junior and dedicated races for athletes of determination.

The race gets underway with the swimming leg in Yas Marina’s aquamarine waters against the backdrop of the W Abu Dhabi hotel and the famous motorsport circuit.

Following the swim, the triathletes will tackle the same course faced by Formula One drivers, as they cycle around the track. The bike course is described by race organizers as “a level of technicality to excite the seasoned triathletes looking for a challenge, while also well suited to the beginners.” The grandstands will also be open to fans as the triathletes make their way around the circuit.

The medals have also been revealed, and will be presented on stage to the top three finishers of each age category.

Mohammed Ahmed Al-Rumaithi, director of international events at Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “We are thrilled to announce that Yas Marina Circuit will once again be the venue for the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Abu Dhabi.

“While it is famous for its motorsport competitions, it is also a multi-purpose venue that caters for a number of different activities, and we have worked closely with our strategic partners to ensure the races are enjoyable and competitive while giving participants a unique opportunity of challenging themselves at an iconic world-class venue.

“As well as the race routes, we are also enhancing the way people enjoy the action with the Event Village having plenty of activities for all while there will be ample places across the island to watch the world’s best triathletes and cheer on your family and friends.

Taghrid Al-Saeed, executive director of group communications and destination marketing for Miral, added: “Following the success of the World Triathlon Championship Finals in November, we look forward to welcoming thousands to Yas Island for the opening leg of this year’s World Triathlon Championship Series.

“The event provides an opportunity to showcase the very best of Yas Island to not just the triathletes and spectators but to millions of TV viewers around the world in a pinnacle event on the triathlon sporting calendar.”

Located at the Formula 1 pit lanes, The Event Village will provide entertainment and activities and is free to enter.

The event has attracted some of the biggest names in triathlon. In the men’s category, the top 10 triathletes will be in action with France’s world No. 1 and world champion Leo Bergere headlining the stellar list.

In the women’s category, world No. 2 Georgia Taylor-Brown will be the top-ranked athlete which will also feature six of the world’s top 10 triathletes including world No. 3 Taylor Spivey of the US.

Tokyo Paralympic star Eva Maria Moral Pedrero, bronze medalist in the super contested PTWC class, will return after giving birth to a baby girl. Also lining up in the Para triathlon cup will be Tokyo bronze medalist in the PTS4 class Alejandro Sanchez Palomero.

There are also the Age Group race categories, which are designed to appeal to athletes of all ages and abilities, including first-time triathletes looking for a new challenge, seasoned triathletes seeking personal records, and junior athletes from 6 years of age.


Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition

Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition
Updated 13 sec ago
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Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition

Saudi Olympic Committee president attends 19th Asian Games esports competition
  • Saudi handball team misses chance to qualify for 2nd round after 23-23 draw with Iran, which qualified along with Japan from the group
  • Table tennis players Ali Al-Khadrawi and Turki Al-Mutairi qualify for 32nd round in singles competition

HANGZHOU, China: Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee president, who is leading the Kingdom’s delegation to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Wednesday attended the Saudi team’s esports competition.
The Saudi team reached the quarterfinals of the League of Legends game in the esports stadium, where they lost 0-2 to the Korean team.
Committee Vice President Prince Fahd bin Jalawi attended the Saudi handball team’s game against Iran as part of the handball competition group stage.
The Saudi team missed the chance to qualify for the second round after a 23-23 draw with Iran, which qualified along with Japan from the group.
A total of 193 Saudi athletes will compete in 19 sports at the Asian Games, which conclude Oct. 8.

Table tennis
Ali Al-Khadrawi and Turki Al-Mutairi qualified for the 32nd round in the singles competition after winning their 64th-round matches on Wednesday.
Al-Khadrawi defeated his Pakistani opponent 4-1, while Al-Mutairi beat a Mongolian rival 4-3.

Equestrian
Saudi rider Samantha Saifi concluded the qualifying round of the dressage competition, scoring 57.706 points in the second round of the competition on Wednesday. Saifi had previously scored 57.617 points in the competition on Tuesday, claiming 29th place in the overall standings.

Shooting
Prince Saud Al-Saud, Hatem Al-Shammari and Saed Al-Mutairi, who are representing Saudi Arabia in the shooting competitions, concluded their participation in the individual shotgun.
Al-Shammari finished 21st in the overall standings with a score of 116 out of 125, while Al-Mutairi ranked 25th with a score of 113. Prince Saud ranked 25th with a score of 113.

Taekwondo
Hisham Al-Dukhi and Mohammed Al-Suwaik exited the games in the quarterfinals of the taekwondo competitions after losing to China and the Philippines, respectively, on Wednesday.
Al-Dukhi defeated his Iraqi opponent Hussein Al-Lami 2-1 in the 32nd round before losing against China’s Chenming Xiao in the 16th round of the U-68 kg weight category. Al-Suwaik departed in the quarterfinals of the U-80 kg weight category.

Football
The Saudi U-23 football team trained for the last time ahead of their match against India in the 16th round on Thursday. National coach Saad Al-Shehri led the training session, which included fitness recovery exercises, a midfield mini-match, shooting practice and stretching exercises.


Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
Updated 10 min 22 sec ago
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Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season

Increase in races and prize money for new Riyadh racing season
  • 700 races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse with a total prize fund, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, of $21.9m
  • Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar

RIYADH: Prize money for the 2023-24 horse racing season in Riyadh, which begins on Oct. 16 and continues until Mar. 16, will increase by more than 7 percent compared with last season, and 56 additional races will be run at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, where the highlight remains the Saudi Cup in February.
The total prize money for the season, excluding the Saudi Cup meeting, will rise by $1.5 million to a total of $21.9 million, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia said. The total number of races will increase to 700 across 59 meetings, all of which will comprise 12 races compared with the previous 11: 10 for Thoroughbreds and two for purebred Arabians.
This represents a significant increase in the number of races for purebred Arabians over the course of the season, the jockey club added, with 66 races added to the calendar. They include a new cup race, the $80,000 Abdulaziz bin Musa’id bin Jalooey Cup, which will be run for the first time on Feb. 10, 2024.
Five purebred Arabian contests have been introduced to the pattern, the highest level of races, this season and will be run as listed contests. The JCSA Cup will take place on Nov. 25, a week after a new, yet to be named listed race on Nov. 18. In the new year, the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Sword on Jan. 13, the Sprint Championship on March 8, and the King Abdulaziz Racecourse Championship on March 9 will be run as purebred Arabian listed events.
Three other new cup races for Thoroughbreds have been added to the calendar. The Imam Mohammed bin Saud Cup, worth $240,000, is a notable addition to the King’s Cup race day on Jan. 13, and the others are the $80,000 Prince Saad bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Cup on Jan. 19 and the $80,000 Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Cup on Feb. 10.
A further development this season is the reduction of the distance in the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup to 1,800 meters, the same trip as the $20 million Saudi Cup, to better reflect its status as a key qualifier for that contest.
The dates for the Saudi Cup meeting have been confirmed as Feb. 23 and 24. It will once again carry an enormous prize fund of $35.4m, with the centerpiece $20 million Saudi Cup race itself maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world.
For the first time this season, the Saudi Cup meeting will feature three international G1 races, after the Al-Mneefah Cup for purebred Arabians, which takes place the day before the Saudi Cup, was promoted to G1 status this season.
Prince Abdullah bin Khaled, chairperson of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia’s Technical Committee, said: “The announcement of the 2023-24 Riyadh program marks the JCSA’s continued commitment to the growth of racing in the Kingdom.
“The Riyadh program, held throughout the autumn, winter and spring at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, builds on the success of the Ta’if summer season and leads the Saudi Arabian racing community into the Saudi Cup weekend and beyond, to the conclusion of the season in March and then potentially an international campaign for the top performers.
“This season the listed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be run as an 1,800-meter race for the first time, making it a true prep for the Saudi Cup, which is held over the same course and distance.
“In addition we have added to our purebred Arabian program, with almost double the amount of races on offer. Every race night will now feature 10 Thoroughbred races and two purebred Arabian contests, underlining our continued commitment to developing this code of racing both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
 


Pakistan cricket team arrives in India after 7 years for upcoming World Cup

Pakistan cricket team arrives in India after 7 years for upcoming World Cup
Updated 47 min 3 sec ago
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Pakistan cricket team arrives in India after 7 years for upcoming World Cup

Pakistan cricket team arrives in India after 7 years for upcoming World Cup
  • Pakistan will play warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia on Sept. 29, Oct. 3 respectively
  • The last time Pakistan’s cricket team set foot on Indian soil was in 2016 during the T20 World Cup of that year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national cricket team arrived in India on Wednesday after seven years to take part in the upcoming ODI World Cup tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed in a statement.
The last time Pakistan played cricket on Indian soil was in 2016 when former captain Shahid Khan Afridi led the green shirts in the T20 World Cup of that year.
Political tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors mean they haven’t played a bilateral cricket series against each other in over a decade. The two teams only lock horns in global cricket tournaments at neutral venues.
“Pakistan team has landed in Hyderabad, India,” the PCB said in a statement. A video accompanying the statement showed Pakistan captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and others exiting the plane with their suitcases.

This screengrab taken from a video shared by Pakistan Cricket Board shows the Pakistani team walking out of the passenger jetway at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India on September 27, 2023, ahead of ICC World Cup 2023. (Courtesy: PCB/Screengrab)


Pakistan left for India during the wee hours of Wednesday, traveling to Dubai where they were joined by Bowling Coach Morne Morkel while Team Director Mickey Arthur will join the squad in India, the PCB said.
Only two players from Pakistan’s current squad have traveled to India before: Mohammad Nawaz, who was part of Pakistan’s 2016 T20 World Cup squad, and Agha Salman, who was in the Lahore Lions’ squad for the Champions League T20.
Skipper Babar Azam’s side will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia on Sept. 29 and Oct. 3 respectively before they begin their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Oct. 6.
Pakistan will face India in Ahmedabad on Oct. 14 where over 100,000 fans are expected to attend the high-octane clash.
 


Pakistan agree contract deals that will allow players to get share of ICC revenue

Pakistan agree contract deals that will allow players to get share of ICC revenue
Updated 27 September 2023
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Pakistan agree contract deals that will allow players to get share of ICC revenue

Pakistan agree contract deals that will allow players to get share of ICC revenue
  • There had been deadlock between the cricketers and Pakistan’s cricket board since contracts expired on June 30
  • Three Pakistani cricketers in the top category will get a monthly retainer of $15,600, says Pakistan Cricket Board

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board has agreed a “momentous” three-year central contract deal with its international squads that will include players getting a proportion of International Cricket Council revenue.
There had been deadlock between the squads and the PCB for several months since the contracts expired on June 30, with the players asking for their share in the revenue the board gets from the ICC, the game’s governing body.
The new three-year contract is backdated to July 1, 2023, but the cricket board said the performance of the players would be reviewed every 12 months.
“As many as 25 cricketers will be offered a momentous deal that will include a proportion of ICC revenue,” the PCB said in a statement on Wednesday.
It is the first time the PCB has merged the red-ball and white-ball contracts of the players, saying it is “aimed at promoting fairness and a transparent selection process.”
Each player in the four categories received a raise of more than 100 percent. Three in the top category, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, will get a monthly retainer of $15,600.
“It is a historic deal,” skipper Babar said. “It has been a lengthy and, at times, challenging negotiation process, but I believe we have reached a fair and beneficial agreement for both parties.”
The players will receive a share of three percent of ICC revenue, which will be around $1 million. The PCB will be earning around $34 million per year from the ICC.
Besides getting a monthly retainer, there is a raise of 50 percent in match fees for players who feature in test matches, an increase of 25 percent for ODIs and 12.5 percent for T20s.
The PCB also agreed that the centrally contracted players can play in two other T20 leagues aside from the Pakistan Super League.
“I am pleased to announce that after lengthy negotiations the PCB has come to a financial agreement with the players,” said Zaka Ashraf, chairman of the PCB managing committee.
Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category B: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan
Category C: Imad Wasim and Abdullah Shafique
Category D: Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan.
 


Dubai hosts inaugural camp for some of the world’s best squash players

Dubai hosts inaugural camp for some of the world’s best squash players
Updated 27 September 2023
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Dubai hosts inaugural camp for some of the world’s best squash players

Dubai hosts inaugural camp for some of the world’s best squash players
  • Event at Jumeirah Beach Hotel looks to establish location as sport’s global base
  • The Flipper Devices Camp in Dubai is the first step toward making the city the world’s ultimate squash hub

DUBAI: Some of the world’s best squash players descended on Dubai this month for the inaugural Flipper Devices Camp of Champions, a high-performance event designed to attract top professionals from across the globe.
The camp, which was organized by The Flying DAF Squash Academy with the support of Dubai Sports Council and the UAE Squash Association, was divided into two phases at the J-Club, at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with the objective of positioning Dubai as a global base for the sport.
The first phase was led by former men’s world No. 2 Rodney Martin and included an impressive lineup, including current women’s world No. 1 Nouran Gohar, No. 5 Amanda Sobhy, and men’s No. 6 Marwan El Shorbagy.
Phase two played host to reigning world champion and No. 4-ranked Mostafa Asal, No. 11 Karim Gawad, and world No. 12 Youssef Soliman.
Kanzy El-Dafrawy, CEO and founder of The Flying DAF, and former world No. 21, said: “Since we launched the academy year, the response has been phenomenal.
“Our vision is not just to make an impact and grow locally, but also globally. The Flipper Devices Camp in Dubai is the first step toward making the city the world’s ultimate squash hub, a home for top-level professional squash players from around the globe.
“Dubai is the perfect place for athletes to be based, considering they have access to the best equipment, sources, and training programs — complemented by the emirate’s geographical location, which makes it very easy to travel to tournaments worldwide.
“Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the J-Club have been extremely supportive to us throughout this camp, giving us a space where we can run local and global events, and ultimately leverage this camp by offering a high-end and luxurious stay to our professional athletes.”
Mohammed Mubarak Al Mutaiwei, president of the UAE Squash Association, said: “I express my appreciation for the distinguished presence of champions of the game within the UAE, particularly in the emirate of Dubai.
“My sincere gratitude to DAF Academy for their exceptional initiative in hosting one of the most formidable international camps in the sport of squash. This gathering, showcasing the pinnacle of talent within the sport, underscores their firm commitment to improve the sport.
“We recognize the endorsement of all clubs and academies throughout the UAE that are dedicated to furthering the federation’s mission and elevating the country’s standing at both regional and global levels.”
Squash is one of the world’s fastest-growing sports and is played in more than 185 countries. There are more than 1,500 courts accessible in the UAE.