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• Yaazar end as runners-up as Al Samawi take third spot as annual sporting event concludes
• Zabeel 2 wins the men's 3x3 basketball title, Fire Squad take women's crown and Dubai Hops Elite clinch Under-17 honours
DUBAI: Al Tadawi team weathered a spirited fightback before clipping Yaazar 3-2 in an exciting final of the Volleyball competition that brought down the curtains on the 13th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament.
By far the largest sporting event of its kind to mark the holy month of Ramadan, this annual event is sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai.
The tournament is held each year at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, under the slogan “Unlimited Capabilities”.
Pushed against the wall after losing the first two sets 21-25 and 14-25, Al Tadawi staged a remarkable fightback claiming the third and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-20 before powering their way to an amazing 15-7 win in the deciding fifth.
The winners Al Tadawai were honoured by His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council in the presence of His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council; His Excellency Ismail Al Hashemi, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Hassan Al Mazrouei, Tournament Director, along with Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai.
The Al Tadawi side, that included several stars from the Italian team MA Acqua S. Bernardo Cuneo, received their gold medals and the championship trophy, along with a cash prize of AED 600,000. The Yaazar team, featuring a selection of top players from the UAE Volleyball League, received their silver medals and the prize of AED 500,000. The Al Samawi team secured third place after defeating M.I.N. Investment, to earn the third place prize of AED 400,000.
In the individual awards, Michele Fedrizzi of Al Tadawi deservedly won the ‘Best Player' award, while his Al Tadawi teammate Domenico Cavaccini was adjudged the award for being the ‘Best Libero'. Al Tadawi made it a hat-trick of individual prizes when Lorenzo Sala won the ‘Best Server' award, while outside hitter Hamza Hamdy Al Safy of Yaazar won the ‘Best Blocker' award, Michele Baranowicz of Al Tadawi was crowned the ‘Best Setter' and Anton of Al Samawi won the ‘Best Spiker' award.
His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul also honoured a number of sponsors and supporters of the annual tournament with the following individuals receiving their awards. These included Ahmed Al Husseini from Al Rashdeen Investment; Abdullah Al Hashemi, Chief Operating Officer – Parks and Free Zones, DP World GCC; Shawqi Sajwani, a member of the board of directors of Damac Properties; Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free; Salem Dahmani, Chief Operations Officer of Dubai Duty Free; and Abdulrahman Amin, Director of Sports Channels at Dubai Media Incorporated.
Also receiving awards were Abdulrahman Al Janahi, Director of Facilities and Infrastructure and Head of the Sports Team at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai; Majid Al Zarouni, Director of Ambulance Operations at Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services; Marwan Ibrahim Haji Nasser, CEO of Al Tadawi Healthcare Group; Jassim Mohammed, Head of Events at Dubai Police; Omar Al Baloushi, Director of Operations and Trade at Meydan and Khalifa Baqer, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Health.
At the conclusion of the volleyball tournament, the referees for the final match and the administrative staff involved in organising the tournament were also honoured with special awards.
Zabeel 2 crowned 3x3 basketball champions
His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, accompanied by His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Hassan Al Mazrouei and Issa Sharif, Director of Events at the Dubai Sports Council, also honoured the winners of the 3x3 basketball tournament following the conclusion of the various categoris of competitions.
Team Zabeel 2 was crowned champion of the Men's Open category, while Team Zabeel 1 had to settled for the runners-up spot, while Team Bowlers finished third. In the Women's Open category, Team Fire Squad took the top spot, Team Cinderella Stories came in second and Team Steelers finished third.
In the Under-17 category, Team Dubai Hops Elite secured first place, Team Wildcats came in second and Team Last Shot finished third.
The tournament witnessed fierce competition between the teams that continued until the final moments of each game, and the event was a big hit as it enjoyed a large audience throughout its duration in this competition.
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