Five Sports You (Probably) Didn’t Know Lebanon Was Good At

Every time you hear about local sports it’s usually either football or basketball being mentioned. Sure, we’ve won various awards and medals in both fields, but there are a bunch of other sports around here that you may not be aware of, and it just so happens that we’re pretty good at them as well.

1. Volleyball

(Photo via New Sports Info)

First established in 2005, the Lebanese Volleyball League consists of various teams from all over the country who compete against one another every year in the annual Lebanese Volleyball Championship. We even have a national volleyball team which recently took part in the 2013 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship held in Dubai. Out of 21 teams, we made it to the 8th ranking. Not bad, not bad at all.

2. Rugby

(Photo via Lebanese Rugby League Federation)

Initially based in Sydney, Australia, the Lebanese Rugby League Federation was founded in 2002 by a group of Australian-born rugby players of Lebanese heritage, and awarded full federation status in Lebanon in 2009, now based in Safra, Lebanon. Lebanon has various rugby teams from Beirut to Triploi, and even Koura. Earlier this month, the Lebanese national team, the Cedars, made history when it represented Lebanon for the first time in Australia in the inaugural Mannah Hyne Cup, beating the Fiji Rugby League. Let’s hope they keep it up.

3. Table Tennis

(Photo via Facebook)

Table tennis, or ping pong as it is sometimes called, may not seem as legitimate a sport as football or basketball, but here in Lebanon, it is in fact taken quite seriously. The Lebanese Table Tennis Federation has been around since 2005, members of which include various clubs located all over Lebanon. Earlier this month, two Lebanese clubs, Al Nadwa Al Qamatiyya and Al Janoub Toul, participated in the 25th Annual Arab Club Table Tennis Championship, which was held in Amman, Jordan. Al Nadwa Al Qamatiyya came in at 4th place, while Al Janoub Toul came in at 5th. We were even represented in the 2012 London Olympics by young table tennis player Tivine Moumjoghlian.

4. Fencing

(Photo via Escrime Liban)

Fencing in Lebanon dates back to the 1950s and has spawned many champions, including Suhail Saad, Vice President of the Lebanese Fencing Federation/ Escrime Liban. Saad was a national champ for many years and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, as well as the 1970 World Fencing Championships in Ankara, Turkey. One of Lebanon’s current shining stars in the fencing world is young Mona Shaito, who took home the gold at this year’s Asian Fencing Championship held in Kuwait, and has been representing Lebanon in various tournaments all over the world.

5. Kung Fu

(Photo via Facebook)

Last but not least, the martial art known as kung fu, made famous by Bruce Lee in the 1970s, was introduced to Lebanon during the same decade by M. Jean Chakib el-Khoury. But it wasn’t until 1995 that the Lebanese Wushu Kung Fu Federation was officially established. One prominent kung fu practitioner is Master Ghassan Maghames. He was the first Lebanese black belt kung fu champion in 1978 and later, he became the first Lebanese to earn the title of Master of Kung Fu from the Shaolin Temple Training Center in Henan, China. Maghames claimed various awards outside Lebanon, mainly in the United States. Not too long ago, Lebanon brought home two gold medals at the 2013 European Kungfu Cup Among Clubs, held in Yalta, Ukraine.