Abu Dhabi : After four intense and exciting days, the winners of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 – the world’s largest vocational skills competition have finally been announced, during an unforgettable ceremony held in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening.
More than 10,000 people filled Yas Du Arena stadium, cheering for their favourite teams and for those who competed during WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2016, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The ceremony began with UAE National Anthem, before a memorable speech by Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ACTVET) who highlighted that the UAE Capital was proud to have welcomed the 100,000 visitors for the week-long event, adding that Abu Dhabi is the Middle East’s heart of hospitality.
China, with 47 competitors, topped the leader board for medal points, having achieved an incredible 15 golds, seven silvers, eight bronzes and 12 medallions of excellence. Biao Song, from China, was awarded the Albert Vidal award – the prestigious award granted to the competitor who achieved the highest score overall across all skill competitions, an award that is named in memory of WSI’s founder.
Korea came second, with eight golds, eight silvers, eight bronzes and 16 medallions of excellence between its 42-strong team, while Switzerland came an impressive third, with 11 golds, six silvers, three bronzes and 13 medallions of excellence across its 36 team members.
Russia – the largest team with 51 competitors – ended WorldSkills Abu Dhabi with a highest total score of 35,461, which put them at the top of the points scored leader board.
Despite its impressive haul, China was pipped to third place for total points scored – behind WorldSkills 2015 hosts Brazil and WorldSkills 2019 hosts Russia.
Principality of Liechtenstein, one of the smallest countries in the world with just a small team of 5 participants managed to secure one gold and two medallions of excellence and Philippine’s both competitors won medallions of excellence – making theirs the only team in which no one went home empty-handed.
For Country wise medals bagged, points scored and their rank in WorldSkills 2017 Skill Development Competition, Click Here
