Al-Ahly Club announced that its Turkish international defender, Merih Demiral, suffered a foot joint injury during the training session conducted by the team on Thursday evening, and thus he was absent from facing Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Professional League competitions.
Al-Ahly explained, in an official medical statement, that Demiral underwent the necessary medical examinations that determined the nature of the injury, and on Friday he began his treatment program in accordance with the plan drawn up by the team’s medical staff.
The club did not reveal the expected length of the Turkish defender’s absence or the date of his return to group training, at a time when his injury represents a blow to the defensive options of the technical staff, given his status as one of the main elements in the team’s back line.
The technical staff is awaiting developments in Demiral’s medical condition in the coming days, to determine the possibility of his participation in the upcoming benefits.
The players of the Saudi athletics team continued their presence on the podiums in the Fifth Asian Paralympic Games “Nagoya 2026”, after Badr bin Ali snatched the gold medal in the shot put competition, achieving a new Asian record, while his colleague Nour Al-Sanaa won the silver medal in the 400 meters race, adding two new achievements to the Saudi participation in the tournament.
Badr bin Ali succeeded in topping the podium in first place in the shot put competitions in the “F20” category, after recording a distance of 17.08 metres, breaking the Asian record, to combine the gold medal with the digital achievement in the same competition.
The Saudi achievement in athletics competitions came after Ben Ali outperformed his competitors and took the top spot in the standings, confirming his presence in one of the most prominent track and field competitions, and awarding the Saudi team a gold medal with additional value by setting a new continental record.
In the track competitions, Nour Al-Sanaa added the silver medal to the Saudi team’s tally, after finishing second in the 400-meter race in the “T64” category, recording a time of 53.13 seconds.
The makers were able to finish the race in second place, climbing to the podium and winning a new Asian silver in the athletics competitions.
The coronation ceremony witnessed the Saudi players ascending to the gold and silver podiums, in attendance that reflects the results of the Saudi team in the field and track competitions within the continental tournament.
Badr bin Ali's gold medal is of special importance. Because it was coupled with breaking the Asian record in the shot put, while Nour Al Sanaa’s silver strengthened the Saudi presence in track races, the two players concluded their participation with two outstanding results in the “Nagoya 2026” tournament.
Indian Sandeep excelled in the 400-meter race by clocking 52.28 seconds, setting a world record, 0.85 seconds ahead of Al-Sanaa, while Indian Ajay Kumar came third with a time of 53.61 seconds, completing the ranking of the three medalists.
The two medals come as an extension of Saudi Arabia’s results in the tournament hosted by Japan until October 24, after the previous days’ competitions witnessed the crowning of Ali Al-Nakhli with the gold in the 100-meter race in the T37 category, and Thamer Al-Zahrani with the gold in the 400-meter race in the same category.
Al-Taawoun Club announced, on Thursday, the appointment of Hamed Al-Balawi as the club’s executive director, in an administrative step that comes amid difficult circumstances experienced by the first football team, which occupies seventeenth place, penultimate, in the Saudi Professional League standings.
Al-Balawi is considered one of the most qualified Saudi sports administrators, as he previously worked as an executive director at Al-Ittihad and Al-Koloud clubs, which gives him previous knowledge of the club’s environment and the nature of administrative work there.
Al-Taawoun is experiencing a faltering start in the Saudi League, after it was satisfied with collecting four points from ten matches, without achieving any victory, compared to four draws and six defeats, and its players scored four goals, while the team conceded 17 goals.
The team's offensive and defensive record reflects the magnitude of the challenges awaiting the new administration, especially since Al-Taawoun is the only team besides Abha that has not achieved any victory so far, according to the ranking table.
Al-Taawoun will play its first match after Al-Balawi’s appointment against Riyadh, on Saturday, in the Saudi Professional League, in a confrontation that the new executive director will attend, amid aspirations that it will constitute the beginning of a different phase for the team, which seeks to leave the relegation centers and improve its results during the coming rounds.
This step comes at a time when Al-Taawoun continues to compete on more than one front, with its participation in the second AFC Champions League, in addition to reaching the round of 16 of the King’s Cup, which increases the importance of rearranging the team’s administrative files during the next stage.
