Nine-year-old Saudi girl Lena Nader Ikhwan from Riyadh was declared as the world champion at the International Abacus Championship held in Malaysia recently.

Shahad Hassan Al-Ahmadi, 10, from Tabuk was the runner-up in the same category of the competition contested by 5,000 children from 45 countries. Forty-five students from different Saudi private and international schools took part in different levels of the contest, which was held at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

“Performing outstandingly well at the competition, students from Saudi Arabia secured top four positions in the world,” said Mohamed Rafi, manager of UCMAS, Saudi Arabia.

Aged between six and 13, the Saudi students were trained extensively for four months by UCMAS Abacus, a program that helps children calculate fast and accurately by developing their arithmetic skills.

Most of the students from different categories were able to solve 150 to 200 sums within eight minutes, Rafi said. “Saudi children have won awards in all the categories they participated in,” he said.

Ameir Nabil Hassan, a five-year-old from Jeddah won first position in a contest beating 1,200 students. Saudi contestants who secured second positions included Ayman Al-Ghamdi (Makkah) Amira Al-Beiruti, Ghada Waleed, Faker Fareed Al-Arabi, Reem Adel Qatani (Jeddah) and Yousef Jehad Yousef from Riyadh.

Abdul Rehman Murad, Badr Al-Ammry, Al-Waleed Khalid Kurdi, Iskander Ghassan Qithmi (all from Jeddah) and Taibah Mohammed Farid from Tabuk won third positions.

In the elementary category (above 7 years), Rama Nader Ikhwan was the champion. Nawaf Al-Ghabban, Farah Haitam Al-Shammari, Rajin Khalaf Al-Fadli, Maha Ibrahim Al-Balawi, Nouf Mohamed Al-Balawi (all from Tabuk) and Basmah Adel Qatani and Mohamed Khalid Kadasa from Jeddah won third places.

Sarah Al-Balawi, Faisal Saad Al-Najdi, Fawaz Eid Al-Atwi, Abdul Aziz Al-Amri and Nawaf Fayes Al-Malki were the other winners from Saudi Arabia.

UCMAS is a unique and a scientifically proven concept that has helped millions of children in various countries all over the world, Rafi said. “This method is an internationally acclaimed powerful mental development program for children aged 4-12 years,” he said.

Abeer Alabdaly, a Saudi teacher at Future Experts School in Jeddah, said the program has proven to be highly beneficial in children’s mental development. She said her school had sent nine children and three of them earned prizes. “Abacus helps children develop their arithmetic skills as well as their overall personality. It also enhances their confidence and helps them in time management,” she told Arab News.

Alabdaly was overjoyed by the excellent performance of Saudi students in Kuala Lumpur. “Our kids have worked hard to excel in the competition. They were practicing three to four hours daily during the training program. This shows that our children have skills and can compete with international students,” she said, urging parents to encourage their children to take part in such contests to enhance their knowledge and capabilities.