UAE: Ahmed Salem, our national karate player, hoisted the UAE flag at the closing ceremony of the fifth edition of the Fifth Islamic Solidarity Games hosted by the Turkish city of Konya during the period (9-18) of this month, with the participation of 6000 athletes from 56 countries, and the UAE participated in it with 53 athletes who competed in 9 different individual sports.
Our sports delegation won 10 coloured medals, 3 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze, through 3 sports: cycling, judo, and bow and arrow for people of determination.
The UAE ranked 14th in the general ranking table and fifth in the Arab world, which is the best ranking during the UAE’s participation in the Islamic Solidarity Games. The UAE came in 19th place in the third edition of the Games in 2013 in Pampang, Indonesia, with 4 medals, and ranked 29th in the 4th edition of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, in 2017, with 4 medals as well.
Turkey topped the general ranking table with 341 medals, including 145 gold, 107 silver and 89 bronze, while Uzbekistan ranked second with 158 medals, 51 gold, 42 silver and 65 bronze, while Iran came third with 133 medals, 39 gold, 44 silver, and 50 bronze.
Art Performances
The closing ceremony, which was held at Selcuk University Stadium in Konya, witnessed some artistic performances of the host country, with a closing speech from Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, President of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, before receiving the flag of the Federation from Mehmet Kasaboglu, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the fifth edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, in preparation for its handover to Cameroon as the organizing country for the sixth edition of the Games in its capital Yaounde in 2025.
Ranking
The Kingdom of Bahrain came first in the Arab world with 23 medals, 9 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze, followed by Algeria in second place in the Arab world, with a total of 42 medals, 7 gold, 12 silver, and 23 bronze, while Kuwait ranked third at the level of Arab countries. Participation with 16 medals, including 5 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze, and the State of Qatar in fourth place in the Arab world with 12 coloured medals, including 4 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze medals.
Saudi Arabia ranked sixth in the Arab world with 24 medals, including two gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze medals, while Jordan ranked seventh in the Arab world with a total of 12 coloured medals, two gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze, and the Sultanate of Oman ranked eighth at the Arab level with 4 medals. Gold, silver and two bronze medals.
