Woman sport in Bahrain

General Secretary of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa expressed thanks and appreciation to Her Royal Highness Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty King Hamad and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Women, on her support to women’s sports activities. Shaikh Ahmed also thanked Her Highness for selecting “Women and Sport.. Will .. achievement and aspirations” as a slogan for the Bahrain Women’s Day this year, which brings pride for the support that the women’s sports has been receiving from the leadership, allowing the BOC to easily conduct their programs on a regular basis and further activate women's sports activities within national federations. This came during Shaikh Ahmed’s meeting with head of Women’s Sports Committee at the BOC Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, who briefed him on the plan of the committee, which is taking part in the celebrations of the Bahrain Women's Day that will be held by the end of the year. The meeting was also attended by Executive Director of Sports Affairs at BOC Noaman Rashid Al Hasan. The General Secretary welcomed this participation, noting the committee’s keenness to provide all the facilities and abilities to ensure the succession of this historic festival, which is considered as a culmination of what women's sports in the Kingdom of Bahrain has reached. In this regards, Shaikh Ahmed referred to the those achievements that were accomplished by Bahraini women in the past years, the most significant of which was the bronze medal won by Maryam Jamal at the Olympic Games held in London recently, and the gold medal achieved by sprinter Ruqaya Al Ghasara in the Doha Asian Games 2006, in addition to many other achievements on the GCC and Arab levels in athletics, archery, table tennis, taekwondo and bowling. On her part, Shaikha Hayat expressed delight for the noticeable backing of the Supreme Council for Women to its athletes, expressing pride for the slogan of the Bahrain women’s day, which enshrines the importance of sports in the lives of women, and praised the support of Her Royal Highness to women's sports in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the keenness of Her Highness to encourage the gifted athletes and that in itself is an incentive to push for more achievements. She confirmed that the vision chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and BOC president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa has significantly contributed to those achievements through the support and follow up to women’s sports plans and programs.