RIYADH — Saudi Arabia will participate in the third Gulf Games hosted by Kuwait on May 22 with more than 250 male and female players in 17 different games. First arrivals to Kuwait, the women's futsal team arrived on Wednesday to launch their participation in the tournament against the Bahraini national team at 5:00 p.m. next Sunday. The games will witness women's participation for the first time in its history, and the Saudi athletes will participate in 17 games, futsal (men and women), 5 x 5 basketball for men, 3 x 3 women's basketball, athletics (men and women), padel (men and women), e-sports (men and women), cycling (men and women), swimming, table tennis, tennis, ice hockey, archery, handball, judo, karate, volleyball and fencing for men. The Supreme Organizing Committee allocated 12 facilities to host the games: the headquarters of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, the Crown Plaza Hotel, the Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Aquariums Complex, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Hall, Ahmed Al-Rashdan Track and Field, Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah International Tennis Complex, and Mayadin Complex Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Bridge, Kuwait Aquatic Club, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Halls, Yarmouk Sports Club, and Kuwait Sports Club. It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia topped the general rankings of the Dammam games in 2015 with 115 medals, 57 of which were gold, 35 silver and 23 bronze, the UAE came second with a total of 73 various medals, Qatar was third with 59 medals, Bahrain fourth with 43 medals, and Oman fifth with 29 medals. In the 2011 Manama Games, Kuwait topped the rankings with 41 medals, Qatar came second with 27 medals, Bahrain was third with 23 medals, the UAE fourth with 26 medals, Saudi Arabia fifth with 32 medals, and Oman sixth with 14 medals.
