Arab News

Saudi bowlers off to QubicaAMF World Cup

First woman from the Kingdom to compete in the championsh­ip in Indonesia

-

tournament for Mashael.

The men’s competitio­n started Sunday at 9 p.m.

The women’s competitio­n will begin at 3 p.m. today, where Mashael will take part in six rounds. The competitio­n will run until Nov. 24.

The competitio­n continues on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and after completing 24 rounds, the top 24 players will be selected to compete for the top eight positions by playing eight runs on Friday. On Saturday, the best four female players and four male players will be chosen to compete in the finals.

Abdulrahma­n said that he is looking forward to the world cup.

NATIONAL PRIDE

“This year there is a new advantage and that is having teammate Mashael joining me for the first time. I’m proud of her! It’s a big thing for Saudi women and for us in the team because this world exposure will help them to learn and give them an incentive to develop their skills,” he said.

The 20-year-old player has been bowling for the past 10 years. Despite his young age, thanks to his perseveran­ce and sense of discipline he managed to win many victories, but the most distinguis­hed were those in 2018. He delivered the bronze medal at the World Cup in Detroit, and two bronzes at the Asian Bowling Championsh­ip in the Philippine­s in the same year, and a gold medal for the trio event at the Arab Bowling Championsh­ip in Oman. Mashael, 32, was only able to play officially last year in February 2018 when the Saudi Bowling Federation (SBF) received the decree to allow women to play in sports. However, she has been playing for fun since early childhood when she used to travel to Egypt with her family and where she managed to learn from the profession­als and get hooked on the game. Mashael was chosen to take part in the Egypt Arab Championsh­ip and World Bowling Women’s Championsh­ip in Las Vegas in August 2018. Mashael said: “Playing for fun is definitely enjoyable but when you wear your country’s flag that’s a huge responsibi­lity put on your shoulder. You become an ambassador and a role model and when I’m put in that situation, I definitely want to give my all to be fit for that honor, and give the best image worthy of our beloved country.”

 ?? Photos/Supplied ?? The training program included participat­ing in the Asian Championsh­ip in Kuwait for Abdulrahma­n Al-Khilaiwi, and participat­ing in the GCC 6th women’s tournament for Mashael Alabdulwah­id.
Mashael Alabdulwah­id and Abdulrahma­n Al-Khilaiwi underwent training at a camp in Riyadh to prepare for the event.
Photos/Supplied The training program included participat­ing in the Asian Championsh­ip in Kuwait for Abdulrahma­n Al-Khilaiwi, and participat­ing in the GCC 6th women’s tournament for Mashael Alabdulwah­id. Mashael Alabdulwah­id and Abdulrahma­n Al-Khilaiwi underwent training at a camp in Riyadh to prepare for the event.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Saudi Arabia