By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: BNK Group held a signing ceremony on Thursday to officially announce its sponsorship of international padel player Ariana Sanchez at Volvo Studio. After the official signing agreement between BNK Holding and Sanchez, BNK Group Chairman Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi told Kuwait Times that the top-ranked World Padel Tour (WPT) female player Sanchez will represent Kuwait and BNK in international tournaments.

Ari Sanchez signs T-shirts for fans at Volvo studio.

Bader Al-Kharafi (center) poses for a group photo with BNK team.

Bader Al-Kharafi (center) takes a group photo with Volvo team.

"We loved to have a female element representing us at world padel tournaments, and Sanchez is considered one of the best players, not only because she is one of the highest ranked, but also because of her morals and how she can deal with people. She is in harmony with the BNK brand, and for this reason, we were keen to have her represent us at global tournaments," he said. Kharafi indicated the BNK group is satisfied with padel world number one Juan Lebron and Ari Sanchez for this season, revealing BNK will be signing other players in the near future.

Ashraf Tamim, General Manager at BNK Automotive and BNK Motion, said BNK has always adopted the principle of gender equality. "Like we signed a contract with Lebron as the top WPT men's player, we are signing Sanchez in the women's category," he said. He pointed out that with Sanchez joining BNK, they will have the two top players in the world in padel, which is considered an important sport in Kuwait, and with their joining, the BNK name will be raised at all tournaments.

KUWAIT: BNK Group Chairman Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi takes a photo with top-ranked World Padel Tour (WPT) female player Ariana Sanchez after signing the agreement.

Bader Al-Kharafi signs the contract of the sponsorship with Ari Sanchez.

Bader Al-Kharafi chats with Ari Sanchez after signing the sponsorship deal.

Sanchez expressed her joy to join BNK Group. "I will work hard to make BNK proud with this partnership," she said, adding she will strive for years to remain on top of the WPT rankings. On her second visit to Kuwait, Sanchez said she is excited to return, adding she enjoyed the country and plans to come many more times in the future.

Regarding the padel scene in Kuwait, she said: "I have played with different local padel players, and was impressed with the level of Kuwaiti youth. The Kuwaiti padel scene will keep growing in popularity on a global scale." Sanchez, a young Spanish padel player, is one of the best players on the World Padel Tour circuit. The year 2022 was one of her best, as she won several padel tournaments.