Popular sports in Saudi Arabia

Aquatics

Saudi Arabian aquatics consists of swimming, water polo and diving. Saudi Arabian swimmers took part in both the 1992 and 2004 Olympic Games, and Saudi aquatic teams have won at the Asian Water Polo Championships.

Archery

Archery is one of the preferred sports under Islam and one of only nine sports in which Saudi Arabia have taken part at the Olympic Games.

Handball

Handball is the largest indoor team sport in Saudi Arabia and is played by sports clubs throughout the Kingdom at U17, U20 and senior level. The Kingdom has made six appearances at the World Championships, and Saudi clubs have performed consistently in the Arab Championships, winning it five times.

Karate

Karate is the longest established of the martial arts disciplines in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and Tabouk are strong regional bases for karate and the sport is structured and developed at local, national and international levels.

Volleyball

Volleyball is one of the most popular indoor sports in Saudi Arabia, with indoor volleyball far more commonly played than beach volleyball. The Saudi national team takes part in a number of regional competitions but has yet to qualify for a world championship or Olympic Games. The team has competed in the Pan Arab Games, the Gulf Volleyball Championships and the Pan Arab Volleyball Championships. The national team won the Gulf Cup in 1997 and 2005, finished fourth at the Islamic Solidarity Games, fourth in the 2007 Pan Arab Games, and were bronze medalists at the Doha 2006 Asian Games. In 2008 the Kingdom won the World Military Games.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting is one of the more successful non-team sports in Saudi Arabia. While the sport does not command much interest from the public, athletes have reached a higher standard in weightlifting than in many other sports.

Weightlifting is one of the few sports in which Saudi Arabia has competed at the Olympic Games. The Kingdom sent its first weightlifters to the 1996 Games and four athletes participated in 2004. KSA athletes compete and have been successful in most major international competitions such as the:

• Asian Weightlifting Championships
• Asian Games
• Islamic Solidarity Games
• Pan Arab Games
• GCC Championships