Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman met Saudi karate champion Tariq Hamedi on Tuesday to congratulate him for winning a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Prince Mohammed said Hamedi displayed remarkable karate skills and wished him more success in the future, state news reported. The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sports and president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee.
“Efficiency and ability are essential, but the most important thing is the passion of the official. When he takes a position, it becomes his personal issue, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki is an example. Sports is something personal to him,” the Crown Prince said.
Hamedi has been rewarded for his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a cash reward of 5 million riyals ($1,333,328).
Prince Mohammed bin Salman also met Fifa President Gianni Infantino, and Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a separate meeting to review and enhance areas of sports co-operation.
The meeting was attended by Prince Abdul Aziz, Mattias Grafström, Fifa’s deputy secretary-general, and Yasser Al-Mashal, president of the Saudi Football Association.
This year the kingdom sent its largest number of athletes to the Olympics and was represented by 33 men and women in nine different sports categories; karate, rowing, football, weightlifting, table tennis, swimming, archery, judo and athletics.
Women's participation in sports has increased by 149 per cent in recent years, according to Prince Abdul Aziz.
