• Boy’s U-18 padel reaches semi-final stages
• All set for Jiu-Jitsu and men’s volleyball at most popular sports event during holy month of Ramadan

DUBAI: The Netherlands will meet Kuwait in the finals of the Padel competition of the 11th Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Tournament to be held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

The Netherlands and Kuwait were efficient in disposing off the UAE and Iran respectively with identical 2-0 margins to set up a meeting in the final.

Robin Siestma and Thijs Roper got The Netherlands off to a winning start with a 6-1, 7-5 result against the UAE’s Fares Al Janahi and Abdulla Al Ahli. Yannick Vorwaater and Youp De Kroon then put the issue beyond the reach of the hosts with a smooth 6-2, 6-2 win over Abdulla Ahli and Omar Behroozian.

In the second semi-final, Mohammed Al Terki and Hussain Shams gave Kuwait the ideal launchpad with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Farsad Shahi and Mohamedreza Kazimi. Aziz Mayouf and Fouad Behbehani then completed the win with a 6-3, 7-6 win over the Iranian pair of Arya Roghani and Hami Golestan.

The four semi-final pairings in the boy’s under-18 were also decided on Friday night. Talal Al Hammadi and Qasem Al Sharafi eased past Maktoum Bin Ghadyer and Maktoom Al Ketbi 6-0, 7-5, while Ahmed Al Hashemi Ismaeil and Martin Martinez defeated Mahmoud Abdul Hameed Al Attar and Ahmed Al Muhairi 6-3, 6-2 to make it to the last four stages of the competition.

In the lower half, Fahad Al Hooli and Hamad Al Kokhardi beat Hamdan Al Hashemi Ismaeil and Ahmed Ibrahim Al Hashmi 6-1, 6-1, while Rashid Walid and Haider Ali battled their way past the pairing of Abdullah Al Hashmi Ismaeil and Hugo 5-7, 6-4, 11-9.

All set for Jiu-Jitsu

Meanwhile, the Jiu-Jitsu Championship competitions will be held over the weekend (March 17 and 18) at the main hall of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

Organised in cooperation with the Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation, and provide athletes from various clubs and academies with an opportunity to showcase their skills, this competition will see athletes compete in three age categories, namely juniors, seniors and masters.

The Jiu-Jitsu competition has so far attracted more than 400 male and female players from various parts of the country, while also providing fans with an opportunity to watch fights full of enthusiasm and suspense.

Athletes can participate in several categories - for men, juniors for blue and purple belts, adults for blue, purple, brown and black belts, masters for blue, purple, brown and black belts, and for women, juniors for blue and purple belts, and adults for blue, purple, brown and black belts.

Competitions for the juniors and masters categories will be held on March 17 (Sunday) and will be followed by match-ups in the adult category on Monday.

Mesmerising Obstacle Challenge Race

The mega event will also welcome participants the Obstacle Challenge Race (OCR) that will go on till March 21.

Organisers are expecting participation from varied ages and nationalities for the competition that has AED 290,000 in prize money.

The winners of both men’s and women’s competitions will pocket AED 100,000 each.

The OCR will be held over a 400m running track consisting of a start and finish line and eleven obstacles in-between.

The obstacles consist of a Cargo Net, Monkey Bars, Balance Beam, Multi Ring, Hurdles, 4-Wheel Rig, a 2m high Wall, Tarzan Swing, Tyre Flip, Twister and finally, Rope Climbing.

The athletes will be required to run, walk, crawl, slither, scramble or otherwise propel themselves across, under, over or through the various obstacles in the fastest time possible, but with a maximum time limit of 4 minutes.

The course comprises of double lanes, thus enabling two people to participate each time against each other to the finish line.

Any athlete who fails to pass an obstacle will be allowed to attempt the obstacle a second time and if he fails to complete an obstacle on the second attempt then he or she will be disqualified from the competition.

However, he or she can continue the course and get a medal for finishing the course.