News DeskDubai, UAE – Al Tadawi 1 and Zabeel secured contrasting wins in their second outings of the volleyball championships at the 12th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament being held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.
Consisting of elite players from Russia’s Dynamo Moscow, Al Tadawi 1 brushed aside Al Ameed 3-0 to wrap up their second win on the trot, while Zabeel went on to parry off HFH before winning 3-1 in the second fixture on Friday night.
This event is part of the 12th edition of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, the largest sporting event of its kind. Launched and 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 Dubai Executive Council, the tournament is held annually during the holy month of Ramadan 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’.
Al Tadawi 1 team was well served by the Russian trio of Dmitri Zhuk, Tsvetan Nikolaev Sokolov and Anton Semyshev as they combined well to take the opening set 25-18. Al Ameed, with a number of players from the Italian Padua club, tried to make a comeback through the combination of Fabian Plak, Marko Sedlacek and Luca Porro, only to fall short and lose the second set, 25-22.
Seeing their opportunity, Al Tadawi 1 raised their game in the third set to win it rather easily 25-13 and maintain their fine showing as one of the early title favourites for the competition crown this year.
Man of the match Zhuk topscored with 12 points, while his teammates Sokolov (11) and Semyshev (9) played the perfect foil. With nine points against his name it was Porro who was among the top scorers for the Italians along with seven points apiece from Plak and Sedlacek.
Zabeel recovers against HFH
In the second match, Zabeel, with most of the players from French club Toulouse, made an easy match look tough as they defeated HFH 3-1.
Up against a little-known opposite team consisting players from local club Shabab Al Ahli, Dubai, Zabeel took their time to settle in while being stretched before winning the opening set 27-25.
With their big scorers Maxime Anthony Hervoir (19 points), Nathan Thimotee Feral (19) and Tom Picard (17) hitting a nice rhythm, the second set was easily wrapped up by Zabeel at 25-17. But, then they made the big mistake of lowering their guard and allowing their opponents to stage a comeback of sorts that saw HFH take the third set 25-22.
Stung by this sudden response from HFH, Zabeel upped their game and won the fourth set 25-23 and maintain their direction for a place in the semi-finals. Irfan Hamzagic topscored for HFH with 16 points, while Mamadou Seydou (13) and Luke Smith (11) came up with valuable contributions even their team fell short against a stronger opponent.
After two matches, Al Tadawi 1 is at the top of the standings with six points and already assured of a spot in the last four stages, followed by Zabeel in second with three points, while Al Ameed and HFH in third and fourth.
Qualifying matches for Group One will continue on Sunday (March 16), with Zabeel taking on Al Ameed at 9 pm, while Al Tadawi 1 will face HFH in the second match at 11 pm.
National Guard to the fore in Tug-of-War
Meanwhile, the National Guard topped the group in the Tug-of-War Championship in the Government Departments and Institutions category with yet another fine 2-0 win against the Ras Al Khaimah Civil Defence.
In other encounters, the Dubai Civil Defence defeated Dubai Media Incorporated 2-0, while Ras Al Khaimah Civil Defence bounced back to beat from their earlier defeat to beat Dubai Media Incorporated 2-0, while Dubai Police got the better of Dubai Civil Defence 2-0.
In the Community category, the IFBB Academy team defeated AJ, Al Asifa got the better of Al Jawarih, Al Kawaser beat EFS Champions, while Truss General Trading kept Dulsco Group at the bottom of the standings.
Huge response to cycling
Meanwhile, more than 1,200 Emirati and UAE resident cyclists are expected to start in the road cycling race that is scheduled to be held as part of the NAS Sports Tournament.
There will be competition for both amateur and professional cyclists from clubs participating in official races inside and outside the country and aged 19 and over. There will be at least seven different race categories, starting with the Open category for men and women from Government sports clubs, national teams, residents, and citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, while the amateur categories will be for male and female citizens; senior citizens and residents category for men over 55 and women over 50 along with separate categories for People of Determination and for the blind.
The People of Determination category races for road bikes (C category), handcycles (H category) and blind categories (T and B categories) will be held on Sunday (March 16) along with the Open category races for men and senior citizens and UAE residents.
The Open category races for women, amateur racing for female and senior citizens were scheduled to be held late on Saturday.
