AUS athletes leave their mark at the second World InterUniversities Championships in Rome

Seventy-eight athletes from American University of Sharjah (AUS) participated in the second World InterUniversities Championships held November 16 - 20, 2016, in Rome, Italy, and organized by the Inter Universities Sports Committee (IUSC). Around 2,000 athletes took part in this prestigious event, representing 55 universities from 28 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The AUS athletes competed in men and women's basketball, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, badminton and men's soccer. The men's soccer and volleyball teams achieved fifth place in the championship along with the men and women table tennis and badminton teams.

AUS swimmers, both men and women, achieved were placed third among 11 universities that participated. Talmir Ishmukhametov of AUS bagged three gold medals by winning the 50-meter backstroke, 200-meter free style and 200-meter individual medley along with a silver in 50-meter free style. Hady Khafaga won silver in the 50-meter breaststroke event. In the women's category, Danya Khafaga and Dina Allam won silver and bronze respectively in the 50-meter butterfly stroke.

In the much awaited relay races, AUS swimmers faced tough competition but emerged as runners-up in both free style and medley relays categories. Two men and two women swimmers from AUS swam the mixed relay and won the bronze medal. AUS men and women swimmers together achieved three gold, seven silver and two bronze medals and placed third in the overall ranking.

Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Dean of Students, congratulated the students and advised them to use such international tournament experiences for further development of their skills and adaptation to diverse competitions. "It was a great exposure for you and I am happy that you've utilized it in the right direction for self-development while up keeping the image of AUS in the international sports arena," said Dr. Al Shehhi.