RIYADH – The Organising Committee for the Saudi Games 2022 announced on Tuesday that 6000 athletes from both sexes will compete in 45 sports in the host city Riyadh from March 10 - 20 with prizes reaching SR100,000.

The opening ceremony will take place at King Fahd International Stadium. The preliminary qualification round will run on Feb. 16 and include locals, amateurs, and professional athletes from the Saudi sports federations.

According to the committee official statement, they chose the sports after evaluating the 13 Saudi provinces based on several criteria such as the game's popularity, technicality, sports rules and regulations at the International Olympic Committee and International Olympic Federations.

These sports are Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball 5×5, basketball 3×3, beach volleyball, billiards, bowling, boxing, camel racing, chess, cycling (road racing), equestrian (endurance-jumping), electronic games, Fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, rowing, judo, Jiu-Jitsu, karate, Kickboxing (boxing and kicking), Muay Thai, Shooting, Sports Climbing, skateboarding, squash, swimming, Table tennis, Taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling, paddle, karting, sambo, aikido, wushu, & balut (traditional card game).

It is notable to mention the Saudi Games 2022 is one of the (Quality of Life) initiatives following the country's vision 2030, which includes increasing the percentage of participation in physical activity within society.

The committee added that opening the door for the locals to participate will ensure the initiative's execution and deliver new talents in various sports. – SG