Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
Ahmed Al Tayeb is heading to Paris for the Summer Olympics with the UAE contingent as Chef de Mission, and he is hoping to see athletes from five sports to do the nation proud.
Speaking to Aletihad, the head of the 14-strong delegation for the Games, to be held from July 26 to August 11, mirrored the majority voice that two sports will be the centre of attraction. “In terms of medals, judo and equestrian are our best hopes based on the world ranking and performances. As you know in Olympics, you cannot predict [medal chances] unless you are in the zone of at least the top 20 or 30 in the world.
“The UAE’s judo players are in the top 20 of the world so we are hopeful that they will raise the flag of UAE. Also our equestrian team has good potential, thanks to the support from Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak and Shira’aa Stables. They have had good preparation in European conditions – Czech Republic, Belgium, England, etc – so I think they will be ready to go,” Al Tayeb said.
He stressed that the intent is to get other sports raise their levels and it is a work in progress.
“Part of our efforts is to support other federations with the co-operation of General Authority of Sports and other stakeholders. We are pushing on priority for sports such as cycling, athletics and swimming to seek out talent which can go up to an elite level that we want.
“I hope the cyclists, which I call ‘Generation 28’ in reference to the next Olympics in Los Angeles, will be ready by then but also before that in Aichi-Nagoya for the 2026 Asian Games,” he said.
Al Tayeb added that holding competitions such as the inaugural Gulf Youth Games earlier this year “is always good to have events in our region and give our athletes the competition rhythm and we increase their participation in different games”.