DUBAI // Khamis Esmail, the UAE and Al Ahli football star, warned his volleyball team, the aptly-named Surprise, that the job is only "half-done" after they stunned hot favourites MRMR-1 3-2 to book a place in the last-four of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.
Down by a set, Surprise fought back to stun the defending champions, who played as Dubai 2021 last year, 19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 and clinch the final semi-final slot, with their Cuban star Leonardo Leyva Martinez and Algeria’s Toufiq Mahdjoubi playing a crucial role in the fightback.
“Our task is now just half-done,” said Esmail, the non-playing captain of the Surprise team. “Next will be to win the semi-finals and then place ourselves with a chance to win the title for the first time.”
In the semi-finals, which are scheduled for Wednesday night, Surprise will take on Fohood Zabeel, while Zabeel will face MRMR-2.
The semi-final line-up for the padel teams’ competition has also been decided – M5 secured the final qualifying spot with 2-0 win over the Abdullah Al Maktoum team and will now meet the SHM team for a place in the final, while the Uncle Saeed team will take on Valencia in the other semis.
In the Recurve archery competition for the disabled, Shabbir Ahmed will meet Saeed Al Muhairi in the gold medal match, while Jasim Ramzan will face-off against Reza Jalal Bahri in the bronze medal match.
Results
Padel
Men’s Open: Sandy Farquharson/Javier Lopez beat Mohammed Ahli/Abdullah Ahli 6-0, 6-0; Emilio Misas/Pedro Rios beat Juan Reyna/Jon Garabieta 6-0, 6-0
Teams competition: M5 beat Abdullah Al Maktoum 2-0
Archery – Disabled Recurve Open
Shabbir Ahmed beat Habib Abdul Majid 6-0; Khalid Ahmed beat Mohammed Al Zarouni 6-2; Ibrahim Al Hammadi beat Nabil Abdul Kareem 6-0; Jasim Ramzan beat Ali Al Sa’adi 6-4; Saeed Al Muhairi beat Ibrahim Hashmi 6-0; Younus Adam beat Mohammed Megahed 6-2; Mohammed Vahdani beat Hussain Ibrahim 6-4; Reza Jalal Bahri beat Ansaf Suhail 6-0; Shabbir Ahmed beat Khalid Ahmed 6-0; Jasim Ramzan beat Ibrahim Al Hammadi 7-1; Saeed Al Muhairi beat Younus Adam 6-4; Reza Jalal Bahri beat Mohammed Vahdani 7-1.
Semi-finals: Saeed Al Muhairi beat Reza Jalal Bahri 6-5; Shabbir Ahmed beat Jasim Ramzan 6-2.
Volleyball
Zabeel beat Al Zaeem 3-0 [25-14, 25-21, 28-26]; Surprise beat MRMR-1 3-2 [19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12]
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