Reda Saleem (Dubai)
Mohammed Sultan Al Zaabi, Secretary-General of the Rugby Union, revealed the challenges facing the national sevens teams and the 15-player category during the year 2024, after the achievements achieved by the game in 2023, by reaching the Asian elite and the Arab lead. He said: “Our national rugby team to participate in the Arab Sevens Championship, which… It will be held in Riyadh next month in the first competitions of the year 2024, where our team will participate in the men’s and women’s categories. During the past year, we succeeded in achieving the gold medal for men for the first time in the eighth Arab Championship, which was held in Al Ain last February. We also achieved the silver medal for women in the same tournament. For the first time, we aspire to maintain the men’s title and achieve the women’s gold for the first time.”
He added that the women’s team of 15 players will participate in the Asian Championship for the second level, which is the first participation for the women’s category, which will be held in India next May. The team will also participate in the Asian Elite Championship, for which it qualified from the first level, in Hong Kong during the month of June. Next, the UAE will host the South Korean and Malaysian teams, in accordance with the new system of the Asian Confederation, as it will host two matches and we will play with Hong Kong outside our stadium. The men’s and women’s teams will participate in the Asian Under-18 Championship next August, while our men’s and women’s teams will participate in the Asian Elite Series for the first time. The first, with the continent’s top eight, which includes 3 rounds, the first round in September, the second in October and the third in November, and the Federation is also considering participating in the Asian Under-20 Championship for the first time.
He continued: “The achievements achieved during the year 2023 are due to the great support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the State, Deputy Prime Minister, and Head of the Presidential Office, especially since rugby achieved unprecedented achievements last year, as we achieved the title The Asian Championship for the first level, and we rose to the elite level for the first time, which includes the 8 strongest teams in the continent. We also achieved the gold medal in the Asian Sevens Championship for men and women under 18 years of age in Taipei, and won the bronze medal in the Asian Cup Sevens Series for men “Elite”. We achieved the Asian Sevens Championship title for the first level in Qatar and qualified for the women’s elite, and thus the men’s and women’s teams are now at the elite level, while our ranking came in fifth place in the Asian Games in China, and fourth place in the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
He explained: “The Federation’s Board of Directors works in the spirit of one team, headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, and all members of the Board of Directors, as well as the technical and administrative bodies. The system is considered integrated to reach the podiums, and perhaps what was achieved last year is a great responsibility for everyone in the field.” Continue to excel at all levels, and we hope that the new year will be better in terms of results and achievements.”
2024-01-03 07:59:50
#Zaabi #title #Arab #Rugby #task #AlIttihad
