By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: The third Gulf Games, hosted by Kuwait will kick off today under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahamad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. 1700 athletes will compete in 16 games. The games were postponed for three days due to the death of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Today's events will include athletics for men and women at Ahamad Al-Rashdan Track and Field in Keifan area; Futsal and basketball at Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah complex in Sabah Al-Salem area in addition to shooting training at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex. The men's athletics will start by 9:00 am. At 4:00 pm, the women's pole vault, 100 m hurdles, shot put, long jump, javelin throw and 10,000 meters running will begin.

The men's competition will resume by 7:00 pm with the finals of the pole vault, 110 meters hurdles, shot put, long jump, 10,000 meters running, 100 meters dash and 400 meters running. Assistant Secretary and Head of the Teams committee at Kuwait Athletics Association Dr Manea Al-Ajmi said he expects tough competitions.

Futsal: Kuwait VS UAE

Kuwait Futsal men national team will start their competition against UAE by 9:30 pm. This will be followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (4:30 pm). The women's team will play UAE at 7:00 pm while Saudi Arabia will play Bahrain at 2:00pm. All matches will be played at Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah complex in Sabah Al-Salem area. The basketball team will face Qatar's team at 7:00 pm, after which Bahrain and UAE will face off. The basketball competitions are played in a knockout league style and the team with the most points will be declared the winner. Member of Kuwait Basketball Association and team Manager Dr Abdelrahman Al-Nashi said preparations for the tournament were on two stages. The team held training camps both in Kuwait and abroad.

Successful camp for Volleyball

Kuwait's volleyball team returned home from their training camp in Serbia in preparation for the Gulf Games. The volleyball games will start on May 20th. Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Volleyball Association Nayef Al-Khamili said he is happy with the players' compliance with the daily training.

Anti-doping efforts

Director General of Antidoping Committee Hanaa Al-Butti said the Committee has intensified its efforts by training specialized personnel on collecting samples (according to international standards) to carry out necessary tests. She said that the anti-doping tests will be carried out on all competitions.