Category: Sports

Riyadh, The Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium has announced at a ceremony held yesterday in Jax quarter in Diriyah, on the western outskirts of capital Riyadh, the the first three winning sculptures of its 2021 edition, it was reported here today.

The New Zealandan Anna Korver won the first place, Haidar Al-Alawi of Saudi Arabia ranked second and Belgian Kim De Ruysscher came third.

The winners were chosen by a committee of leading artistic figures from different countries of the world, who adopted international technical standards to evaluate the works for three weeks.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, The Saudi handball national team will play against Iran, Australia and India in “Group B” of the 20th Asian Handball Championship, which qualifies for the 2023 World Championships “Poland – Sweden” from January 18-31, according to a draw cast today in the Eastern Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it was announced here.

The draw ceremony took place at King Abdulaziz International Center “Ithra”, where the logo of the tournament was revealed, in the presence of Vice President of the International Handball Federation for Asia, AFC Treasurer Badr Diab, AFC Executive Director Ahmed Abu Al-Lail, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Handball Federation, Chairman of the Supreme Committee Fadel Al-Nimr, and several heads of clubs in the Eastern Province and former players.

“Group A” includes South Korea, Kuwait, Jordan and Singapore, “Group C” includes Qatar, UAE, Iraq and Oman, and “Group D” includes Japan, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports has extended his thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense for their great support and continuous follow-up to everything that ensures the development of the dear homeland and meets all the needs of the citizen in all different fields, especially sports.

He said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that while following up the latest arrangements and preparations at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which will host the 1st edition of Formula One STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021, “We have the privilege of hosting this huge sporting event, which represents a dream for all motorsport lovers, and this event would not have been witnessed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without the grace of Allah Almighty and then the support and follow-up of HRH the Crown Prince. We promise everyone better hosting to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports, added, “Today, we are proud of the work of this mighty achievement by the hands of Saudi male and female citizens, which is a source of pride for everyone, in addition to the efforts of Saudi companies.”

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Doha, On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Region, represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today at the opening ceremony of 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Upon his arrival at Doha International Airport, he was received by the Qatari Minister of Youth and Sports Salah bin Ghanem Al-Ali, and Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan, Saudi Ambassador to Qatar.

Prince Saud bin Naif met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince and their best wishes for the State of Qatar further progress and prosperity.

The governor left Doha, where he was seen off by the Minister of Communications and Technology of the State of Qatar, Mohammed Al-Mannai.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has inaugurated the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in the presence of a number of heads of states at Al-Bayt Stadium in Doha.

Source: Saudi press Agency

Riyadh, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sport, will hold tomorrow a press conference “virtually” to announce the details of the Saudi Dakar Rally 2022.
The press conference, which will also be attended by Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, President of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, the Saudi Motorsports Company, and Executive Director of ASO Yan Le Meunier, will reveal the course of the rally that will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the third year in a row, from January 1 to 14, 2022, the 14 stages of the race and the distance of each stage, as well as other important details.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

New York, Evan Fournier scored 26 points, Immanuel Quickley had 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter after New York had blown a 25-point lead, and the Knicks beat a Los Angeles Lakers team missing suspended star LeBron James 106-100 on Tuesday night.

Julius Randle added 20 points, 16 rebounds and five assists for the Knicks, but sat for eight minutes of the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul. Quickley made sure that didn’t matter, hitting four 3-pointers in the period, AP reports.

Russell Westbrook had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, with 18 points in a sensational third quarter that allowed the Lakers to tie the game. But with James not in the arena, Anthony Davis struggling through an illness and Carmelo Anthony’s shot off in his old home, the Lakers never could take the lead.

They beat Detroit on Sunday after overcoming a 17-point deficit in the game James was ejected from for striking Pistons center Isaiah Stewart in the face and drawing blood. The NBA suspended the superstar forward for one game.

But the best Los Angeles could do in this one was tie it twice after New York dominated most of the first two quarters.

Davis, who woke up with a fever, had 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Anthony was just 3 of 14 for 12 points, and the Lakers lost for the fourth time in five games.

Randle went to the bench with his fifth foul with 9:18 remaining and was hit with a technical foul from there that allowed the Lakers to cut it to 90-87. But Obi Toppin scored before Quickley made a 3-pointer to push it back to eight, and it was back into double digits when another 3 by Quickley made it 105-93 with 4:58 to play.

The Knicks raced to a 10-0 lead that grew to 36-15 on RJ Barrett’s 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the first quarter. It was 59-35 with under 5 minutes remaining in the half before the Lakers put together a 16-2 run that trimmed it to 61-51 just before the break.

The Lakers scored nine straight to open the third and cut it to 63-60, and finally tied it for the first time at 79 on Anthony’s dunk.

TIP-INS

Lakers: Anthony got a loud ovation when he checked in during the first quarter. … Talen Horton-Tucker missed all eight shots in a scoreless outing.

Knicks: New York played without backup point guard Derrick Rose (sprained right ankle) and injured centers Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Robinson, out with a concussion, is doing better but still has to clear the league’s protocols before he can return. … New York has won nine of the last 11 meetings at home.

MISSING OUT ON MSG

Lakers coach Frank Vogel called James one of the classiest players in the league who always plays the game the right way. He spoke with James, who was disappointed to miss a second straight visit to one of his favorite arenas. He was hurt last season when the Lakers played at Madison Square Garden.

“He wanted to play. I don’t want to get into it more than that,” Vogel said. Source: Bahrain News Agency

Riyadh, Al-Hilal won today the AFC Champions League 2021 title, for the fourth time in its history, becoming the most club to win the title.

Al-Hilal defeated South Korea’s Pohang Steelers 2-0 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

With this win, Al-Hilal qualifies for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, for the second time in its history.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, The United Through Sports World Virtual Youth Festival 2021 will kick off tomorrow in Turaif district in Riyadh, which will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 20-27 November.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, said that the Kingdom is proud to host this great international virtual festival.

He added that as the Kingdom opens its doors again by hosting such a distinguished event and by contributing to the interconnection of the whole world and improving the lifestyle of the youth, in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Committee. International, Special Olympics, our unified goal is to encourage the participation of more than 30,000 children from all over the world in this virtual festival, stressing that the Kingdom is proud to be the official host of this event that extends from Riyadh to the world.

For her part, United Through Sports CEO Julia Govenden said that each organization has nominated its own youth ambassadors to represent their organizations and their sport and with their distinction, they inspire us all at all levels, representing the core values of diversity, inclusion, and the true power of sport not only to change lives but to change the world.

It is worth noting that this week-long event will include several sports in the activities of Max Fit – Iron Fit – Talents – and the IPC Comprehensive Challenge – the Unified Fitness Challenge for the Special Olympics.

The registration for the virtual festival is available via: https://riyadh2021.unitedthroughsports.com/en/registration

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Deputizing for Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and member of the Executive Board, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Vice President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, will head the Kingdom’s delegation to the 40th OCA General Assembly, to be held on Sunday in Dubai, UAE.

The Kingdom’s official delegation includes members of the Olympic Committee’s Board of Directors, Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah and Adwaa Al-Arifi, and the Committee’s Executive Director of Marketing and Institutional Communication, Abdulaziz Al-Baqos.

The General Assembly agenda will include discussions of the reports of the Winter Olympics (Beijing 2022), the 19th Asian Games (Hangzhou 2022) and the upcoming Asian Games, the report of the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Asian Games “Riyadh 2034”, and the bid to host the 2025 Asian Indoor Games.

The 76th meeting of the OCA Executive Board will take place the day before the General Assembly, on Saturday.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

ATHENS — Greece and U.S. tech giant Microsoft have teamed up to digitally revive one of the ancient world’s most sacrosanct sites: the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The ambitious project uses technology to immerse viewers in the world of ancient Olympia.

The collaboration between Microsoft and the Greek Culture Ministry will allow millions of visitors to immerse themselves in an experience that organizers say brings history to life.

At a recent news conference in Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Microsoft officials said they used artificial intelligence to map the site, augmenting reality to help restore the sacrosanct location as it might have looked some 2,000 years ago.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitostakis attended the launch and said the project would revive Greece’s greatest commodity — its history.

“Technology is opening up a completely different way of experiencing what our culture is all about. And the project in Olympia is so important because it demonstrates the power of technology to not just look at the site, but also the lives of people, how societies were organized,” Mitostakis said.

Among the 27 monuments being featured are the original Olympic stadium, the temples of Zeus and Hera, and the workshop of the renowned sculptor Phidias.

Through data provided by Greek archaeologists, the sites are as close as possible to their original forms. In-person visitors are provided with smart glasses at the site so they can get an idea of what the locations would have looked like in ancient times. Visitors also see timelines of how the sites have changed over time, as well as depictions of artifacts from various periods.

Antigone Papanikolaou of Microsoft explained in a presentation.

“It’s like passing the flame from the old generations to the next. The fact that we can now go and experience how our predecessors were creating and living and seeing that as it was in ancient Greece, It’s amazing,” Papanikolaou said.

Organizers say people who are not able to visit the site in southern Greece will be able to take a virtual tour using a computer or mobile app. Critics tell The Associated Press that the program will extend “the invasive power” of U.S. tech giants.

Work on the ambitious project took 18 months, with drones and sensors being used to help map the sites.

Officials in Greece, a treasure trove of antiquities, say the cultural implications for the country are now endless.

Source: Voice of America