Islamic Solidarity Games to feature 130 Saudi athletes in Turkey

Saudi Arabia is set to join 53 other nations at the delayed 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games taking place in Konya, Turkey from Aug. 9 to 18.

Konya 2021 will be the fifth edition of the tournament, and the first time it is being organized by the Turkish Olympic Committee.

The Saudi Arabian delegation will include 130 male and female athletes who will take part in 3×3 women’s basketball, darts, gymnastics, athletics, fencing, football, handball, judo, karate, archery, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, wrestling, and Paralympic swimming.

Saudi Arabia hosted the first ever Islamic Solidarity Games in 2005 in Makkah, and topped the final standings with 60 medals, made up of 24 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze.

The second games, scheduled to take place in Iran, was cancelled, while the third edition of the tournament was held in the Indonesian cities of Palembang and Sumatra, in 2013. There Saudi ranked seventh with 16 medals, consisting of seven gold, three silver and six bronze.

The fourth games took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2017, with Saudi Arabia finishing 11th in the overall standings with 11 medals — four gold, one silver and six bronze.