Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAENOC), formally opened the fourth edition of the NAS Ramadan Sports Tournament.

The opening ceremony on Tuesday consisted of a light and sound show that emphasised Dubai’s drive towards a better happiness index.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, there was an exhibition goalball match in which the UAE Whites came back from a one-goal deficit to beat the UAE Reds 4-2. The hero for the winners was Nawaf Khalfan as he scored all four goals for his team.

The UAE were trailing 1-2 at halftime, but it was Khalfan’s goals that proved handy in the victory.

Meanwhile, the padel tennis competition got under way at the NAS padel courts. The Real Racquet Academy teams got off to winning starts in the teams’ competition with their first team defeating Team Caged-1, 6-3, 6-4 while their second side beat Team Caged-2, 6-0, 6-2.

The men’s doubles tournament also started with Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios securing a 6-1, 6-1 win over Mohammed Al Mansoori and Xavier Masson in the only match played.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year there are seven sporting disciplines, including competitions in futsal, volleyball, a 10km road run, a 75km cycling race, wheelchair basketball, archery, goalball and deaf football, all vying for a total prize fund of Dh8 million.