Kuwait City, Kuwait, May 23, 2022: Najd Fahd became the first Saudi woman to win a gold medal at the GCC Games, storming to a top podium finish by winning an e-Football title on Sunday night, May 22.
Her victory was greeted with acclaim by a senior official of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Vice President and Secretary General, Fahad bin Jalawi Al Saud, who said the Kingdom was proud of Najd's historic achievement.
“We are proud of Najd’s achievement, being the first Saudi female to snatch a gold medal at this GCC Games,” said the high-ranking SAOC official.
The Saudi NOC Secretary General added: “Saudi Arabia is committed to support our female athletes in all kinds of sports to pursue their dreams and achieve more glory, following the direction of our wise leadership under the Vision 2030 Programme.”
Najd Fahd won the gold medal in the women’s FIFA HD event, remaining unbeaten throughout the competition. Noof Badow of Bahrain took home the silver medal while Sara Al Aamri from Oman won the bronze.
It was a momentous occasion for Fahd who started playing the game at the age of seven. In July, 2020, Najd Fahd became the inaugural winner of FISU eSports Challenge’s female tournament beating a Brazilian opponent 8-0 in the final.
FIFA.com quoted her then as saying: “It’s a great achievement, especially because it’s a global tournament. What makes it even more important is that it was the first edition of the tournament and the first title for Saudi Arabia in the female category.”
Following her bold victory, Saudi Arabia has seen an increased participation in these online sports, and she was hopeful that it would motivate more girls to try out FIFA20.
Now she has gone and done it again, breaking down barriers by winning the first women’s gold medal for Saudi Arabia at the 3rd GCC Games.
