Sports

Riyadh, The Ministry of Sports announced the suspension of all sports activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all tournaments and competitions, as well as the closure of private sports halls and centers, starting tomorrow, March 15, 2020, until further notice.This is an extension of the continuous efforts made by all government agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and take the necessary preventive measures in order to preserve the safety of citizens and expatriates in the Kingdom, and based on the recommendations of the committee concerned with following up on the developments of the spread this virus.Source: Saudi Press Agency

Damascus, The Syrian Federation for Football said it has appointed Tunisian Nabil Ma’aloul as coach of the Syrian National Football Team which participates in the twin qualifiers for the World Cup of 2022 in Qatar and Asian Cup Finals of 2023.The technical and the administrative staff consists of member of the federation Abdul-Qader Kurdaghli as a supervisor and the Tunisian Nabil Ma’aloul as a technical director in addition to the Tunisian Nader Ben Yousif Dawood and Dirar Ridawi as assistants.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Riyadh/Dammam, Tunisia and Senegal are set to meet at the final of the Arab Youth Cup U20.Earlier today, Tunisia crushed Morocco four love at Al-Riyadh stadium in Riyadh in the semi-finals of the tournament. At the same level, Senegal eliminated Egypt 6-5 in a penalty kick marathon after the two teams drew one all in the original time, at a match held at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd stadium in Dammam.Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, The Arab Federation for Sports Journalism has extended felicitations to Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal on being appointed as Saudi Arabia's first minister of sports.In a statement, the official spokesman of the federation Oani Firaij said the move reflects the attention paid by the leadership of the Kingdom, under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, for sports and sports men and women in the Kingdom, citing the high ranking of the Kingdom in all sports domains and at all levels.Source: Saudi Press Agency

Amman, Syria's table tennis player, Hind Zaza, qualified to Tokyo Olympiad 2020 after gaining the gold medal of Asia western championship being held in the Jordanian capital of Amman.Zaza got the gold medal after beating Lebanese counterpart Mariana Sahakian 4/3.She also beat her Jordanian counterpart 4/3 in the semi-finals.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Buraidah, Saudi Arabia, Buraidah-based Al-Ta'awon of Saudi Arabia made its second victory at King Abdullah Sports City in this Saudi city of Buraidah to lead group C of Asia Champions 2020, beating Al-Daheel of Qatar two love in the second round of group C of Asia Champions soccer tournament 2020.Mohammed Al-Sahlawe commenced scoring for Al-Ta'awon in the 33rd minute with Abdulmajeed Al-Sawat adding the second goal in the 55th, giving their team a lead of the group with six points. Al-Daheel remained second with three points.In the same group, Al-Sharja of the UAE and Perspoly of Iran drew two all, to share the bottom with one point each.Source: Saudi Press Agency

Tashkent, The Syrian weightlifting team has harvested nine medals (three silvers and six bronzes) in the Asian Weightlifting Championship currently held in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.Weightlifter Mary Jughaili won three silver medals at the competitions of young women category while weightlifter Mirna Hassan gained six bronze medals at competitions of the juniors and young women categories.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Amman, Syria's basketball team beat its Bahraini counterpart by 81/64 in its final match that was held on Thursday within Jordan International Championship in Amman.The first leg of the game ended wuith40/29 for Syria.The Syrian team earlier lost to Lebanon 75/86, to Iraq 60/63 and to Jordan 67/75.The basketball team's participation in the championship comes as preparations for the Asian qualifiers that will start on February 20th.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Bangkok, Syrian swimming team members Omar Abbas and Ayman Kalazeh won four medals, one gold and three silver, at the conclusion of Martins cup championship on Monday in the capital city of Thailand Bangkok.Abass won a silver medal in the 200-meter free stroke event and a gold medal for the 100-meter free stroke, while Kalazeh got two silver medals in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly stroke.At the first day of the championship Abass and Kalazeih achieved silver in the 400-meter free stroke event, gold in the 1500-meter free stroke, silver in the 400-meter medley, and bronze in the 50-meter butterfly stroke, bringing the total of medals for the Syrian team to two silver, five gold, and one bronze.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Bangkok, Syrias National Swimming teams won four medals( a gold, two silvers and a bronze ) in the first day of the Martin International Cup held in the Thai capital, Bangkok.Syrian swimmer Omar Abbas won a gold medal in 400-meter freestyle and a silver medal in 1500- meter freestyle race.Syrian swimmer Ayman Kalzia won a silver medal in 400-meter various style and a bronze medal in 50-meter butterfly race.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency