Al Asfoor bags overall crown

ABDULWAHED: Al Asfoor of Sitra Club was the overall champion in the National Day Bodybuilding Championship which took place late Saturday night as part of 'Raw Power Bahrain' at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Al Asfoor, who notched the 90kg weight category gold medal, competed with the winners of the other six weight sections for the prestigious trophy.

The veteran Sitra bodybuilder proved too strong with his outstanding show which gained the admiration of a full-house crowd that attended the three-hour event.

In the 90kg weight category held earlier in the day, Al Asfoor lived up to expectations and was followed by Nader Malalla in second place, Ahmed Al Aradi third and Ahmed Al Rumaithi fourth.

The show, attended by International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness vice-president for Africa Dr Engineer Adel Fahim El Sayed, was dominated by bodybuilders from Sitra, Al Najma and Al Ittihad Clubs.

In the 65kg section, the opening contest of the day, Ali Hilal of Sitra Club came on top after a stiff competition with Riffa Club's entrant Ahmed Abdulnabi who claimed second position.

Akram Hassan Abdulla and Ali Mohammed Radhi, both representing Sitra Club, were respectively third and fourth in this weight section.

Al Najma Club bodybuilders dominated the next event which was for 70kg contestants. It was won by Ahmed Abduledha who took the gold while his teammate Habib Al Qallaf received the silver.

Busaiteen's Bader Sultan rounded off the podium by winning the bronze. Fourth place was Mohammed Al Maghni, followed by Hussain Al Ansari of Al Hala in fifth place with Tubli's Hussain Ebrahim sixth.

The 75kg weight category featured some surprising results as Al Ittihad Club's bodybuilder Sayed Hameed Ebrahim notched the gold medal.

Ebrahim defeated favourite Ali Al Khayyat who clinched the 70kg in the Shaikh Nasser International Championship held last Friday at the same venue.

Al Najma's Hussain Ebrahim produced another upset result by winning the bronze medal and ahead of contender Nassrulla Al Mosawi who came fourth. Hamad Mohammed of Al Hala Club was fifth and Sitra's Isa Abdulla sixth.

In the 80kg section, Sitra's Abbas Khudair lived up to his billing, clinching the gold medal in style and halting his mainchallenger Reda Yaqoub of Al Najma Club who took the silver while Sitra's Hussain Ahmed claimed the bronze.

Again there were no surprises in the 85kg event with favourite bodybuilder Majeed Abdulhussain coming on top.

Riffa Club entrant Daij Salman was second, followed by Sitra Club pair of Faisal Salman and Taher Salman in third and fourth positions, respectively.

The seventh and last contest of the day was open for heavyweight bodybuilders which saw stiff battle between Nooh Eid and Fuad Abdulrahman who emerged victorious, leaving Eid in second place. Hamad Ali came third while Osama Hussain was fourth.

The competition was followed by the awarding ceremony, during which each category's winners were honoured by Bahrain Weightlifting Bodybuilding Federation president Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa.

This event, held under the patronage of Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, was only open to Bahrainis.