By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and in the presence of Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the official opening ceremony of the third Gulf Games was held on Sunday. In a press statement, His Highness welcomed the Gulf sports delegations in their second country (Kuwait) -the land of friendship and peace, and wished them success. He expressed his hope that the tournament would achieve its noble goals in promoting communication and meeting between brothers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and improving their sports standards, which will enable them to participate in strong international competitions.

Meanwhile, Kuwait teams continued their lead at the third Gulf Games as they remained on top of the medal table with 59 medals (22 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze). Bahrain took the second position with 45 medals (17 gold, 16 silver, and 12 bronze); Qatar -third- with 39 medals (12 gold, 15 silver and 12 silver); Oman -4th - with 25 medals (11 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze). Saudi Arabia - 5th - with 34 medals (7 gold, 9 silver and 18 bronze) while UAE remained 6th with 23 medals (7 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze).

The sixth day of competitions had just one medal in the Women's Individual Cycling Time Trial. The gold went to UAE's Safia Al-Sayegh (19:36.31 minutes), followed by Kuwait's Latefa Al-Yassen who took second position with 19:39.40 and Saudi Arabia's Daniah Sembawa (third) with 20:02.34 minutes.

Kuwait grabs 59 medals at Third  Gulf Games
Kuwait grabs 59 medals at Third  Gulf Games
Kuwait grabs 59 medals at Third  Gulf Games

Meanwhile, the Women's Individual Road Race will take place on Monday on the Jaber Bridge (7:00 am). The Ice Hockey will kick off at the Winter Games Club Hall in Bayan area with two matches between UAE and Saudi Arabia (3:30 pm), followed by Bahrain and Kuwait match at 7:00 pm.

Club president Fuhaid Al-Ajmi said the club prepared very well for the sports event. Al-Ajmi lauded the support of the president of Kuwait Olympic Committee Sheikh Fahad Al-Nasser Al-Sabah. He said Kuwait's Ice Hockey team members are ready for the competitions after training in Turkey.

eSports start today

The men's eSports will start on Monday with the participation of the six gulf countries; Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Qatar. Players will compete in the FIFA 22 Game at Al-Jumaira hotel starting from 1:00 pm.

Basketball semifinal

Kuwait basketball team will face Saudi Arabia's team at 5:00 pm in the semifinals while UAE will face Bahrain at 8:00 pm in the second match. The fifth and final round of the preliminaries resulted in Qatar defeating UAE 72-61 and Bahrain beating Saudi Arabia 63-51.