Dubai Police claim wheelchair basketball crown at 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament

• Secure a thrilling 61-60 win over Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship Dubai 
• H.E. Saeed Hareb, Hassan Al Mazrouei present awards to various winners

​DUBAI: Dubai Police General Headquarters reserved their best for the last with a mesmerizing 61-60 win against Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship Dubai and bag the Wheelchair Basketball title at the 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament.

Played before a jam-packed crowd at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex Hall late on Thursday, the final turned out to be an exciting affair with the lead changing hands constantly till the team representing Dubai Police nicked it in the end to send the management into wild scenes of celebration.

The semi-finals had been close affairs too with Dubai Police getting past the Dubai Ambulance Services 31-25, while Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship Dubai had waded past Dubai Courts 39-20.

His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary-General of Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Organising Committee was joined by Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament and the various representatives from sponsors, in awarding the winners and runners-up of the wheelchair basketball.

Launched and supported by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, the 11th Ramadan Sports Tournament will conclude with the volleyball final on March 31.

Held under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman Dubai Sports Council, the largest sports tournament of its kind during the holy month of Ramadan at the NAS Sports Complex, is conducted under the slogan “Limitless Capabilities.”

Organised under the auspices of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year’s sports fiesta had nine different sports disciplines, including Padel, Jiu-Jitsu, Fencing, Road Racing, Cycling and an Obstacle Challenge Race that have all been complete leaving just the Volleyball, Wheelchair Basketball and Tug-of-War competitions at the moment.

The 11th Ramadan Sports Tournament will conclude with the volleyball final that is scheduled to be held on Easter Sunday (March 31).

Also receiving their awards were champions and winners of other competitions held earlier, including cycling, road running and obstacle race in the presence of Saeed Hareb, Hassan Al Mazrouei, Mohamed Ali Al Kamzari, Manager of Corporate Communications Office at AWQAF Dubai, Abdulla Al Hashmi, Chief Operating Office, Parks and Zones, DP World GCC and Waleed Al Shibani, Director of Dubai Municipality Club.

Obstacle Race champions

In the Obstacle Course Race (OCR), the top honours had been bagged by Nikita Khaydukov and Ida Mathilde in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. Mohammed Al Musahi and Abdulla Fuaad had been placed second and third in the men’s competition, while Alisa Petrova and Olga Kopeiko had triumphed in the women’s category.

OCR is a sport in which a competitor, travelling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometres which incorporate elements of track, road and / or cross country/trail running.

Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire and jumping through fire. Since the beginning of modern OCR in 1987, the sport has grown in popularity such that more than 2,500 events are held annually across the globe.

Road running champions

Meanwhile, the 5km run for men and women had seen some familiar faces up on the podium with Latifa Essarokh winning the women’s race ahead of Liliana Orejuela and Penelope Anne Mary Emes.

In the open category women, it was Liesbeth Verheyden all the way finishing clear of Alisa Petrova and Ida Mathilde Rubens Steensgaard.

The top positions in the men’s race were won by Mbarek Rihane ahead of Jean Claude Haramboure and Simon Marshall. The men’s open category race was won by Amine Souida, who finished ahead of Julius Kyasanku and Grace Gwidi.

The 10km race for women in the open category had a worthy winner in the form of Wafa Zaroual leaving Fanos Tekle and Kate Jordan in second and third, respectively. In the men’s section, it was Dagne Tesfu Demsie all the way as he finished clear of Anouar El Ghouz and Noaman El Assaoui. Ruqayya Mohammed Al Marzooqi clinched the crown in the UAE National women category, while Khalid Khalil Al Bedwawi ended supreme in the UAE National men’s category.

The 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament is now approaching the fag end with just the Strongman and Volleyball competitions to be conducted in the next two days.

The final round of the Strongman, that is being organized in three different categories, was scheduled to be held late on Friday night, followed by the third place play-off and final of the eight-team volleyball over the weekend.