Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ALETIHAD)
A 14-strong delegation from the UAE will represent the country's hopes for a medal at the biggest sporting spectacle in the world called Olympics or the Summer Games.
The 2024 Paris Olympics officially begin from Friday and run until August 11.
A major chunk of the hopes from the national delegation will be on the sports of judo and equestrian.
In an earlier interaction with Aletihad, the delegation chef de mission Ahmed Al Tayab told that the UAE is pinning hopes on the two areas for a valid reason and that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) chose to focus on quality and not quantity.
"As you know, any athlete within the top 20 of the qualification criteria, whatever that may be, can only hope to bring a medal. That is the case with our judokas and the showjumping team, which has the painstaking support of Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Al Shira'aa Stables."
The nation of 9.44 million people, according to a 2022 census, is largely expatriate-driven but the Emiratis first found Olympic pride and glory in none other than Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum at Athens in 2004 when he won a gold medal in shooting.
The high point of the UAE's Olympic sojourn has never been breached for a participation journey that began with the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Judokas Sergiu Toma is the only other athlete who has since been on the podium for the country when he won the bronze medal in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro.
The Paris Games marks a return to the same city after 100 years and will feature 32 individual and team events, involving 10,500 athletes from all over the world across 329 competitions over 19 days.
Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the NOC Chairman, has directed the officials in charge of the delegation to ensure that the UAE athletes have access to the best facilities and support structure in France so that they could give their very best in all competitions.
Sheikh Ahmed's statement comes in the backdrop of the UAE's participation in the 33rd Olympic Games and he expressed his gratitude to all national sports bodies and institutions for inspiring the Olympic dream within their respective sporting communities.
Over the four decades since Los Angeles, the efforts of UAE athletes to qualify for every Olympics have left a lasting impression with their determination to fly the national flag high at the biggest international sporting stage, he said.
UAE sporting contingents had steadily raised the bar over the years with renewed ambition to transition from being mere contestants to finish on the podium and fly the flag high, he added.
The NOC Chairman noted how the national sports federations deserved all the credit for preparing the ground for Paris 2024, the day after the predecessor event in Tokyo ended, and how preparations intensified to ensure qualifying criteria needed in various events while getting athletes in the perfect frame of mind for the Games.
A six-member bunch of judokas are a prime example of the UAE's strategic plan.
The two weeks of action in France may be a culmination of each sporting national federation's strategy, but for the UAE Wrestling and Judo Federation General Secretary Nasser Al Tamimi, it will be midway of an eight-year current plan that started in Tokyo and will reactivate from Paris to Los Angeles in 2028 where the Olympics is headed next.
Speaking to Aletihad, Al Tamimi said: "We started preparing soon after the Tokyo Olympics and our strategy runs down to 2028. Our players have been training throughout the year. We have had training camps, the last one being in Spain."
"We have ensured that they are in a healthy environment and that includes mental and physical conditioning, recovery, diet, etc. They know that a lot of expectations are on them and hence it is important to keep them away from any distractions."
"All of the players are going to be there at the Olympics for the first time, so there is a mental side of preparation that we have to keep in mind and that is being ensured," he added.
The UAE hosted the inaugural Gulf Youth Games held in April and topped the medal tally among six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The foundation event acted as an opportunity for spotting talent and building roots for many potential medal-winners.
Sheikh Ahmed also applauded the UAE Olympic House initiative being promoted on the sidelines of the event, an idea that embodies the essence of the traditional Emirati home.
"The concept serves as a beacon of national heritage, culture, and history during a global event that is followed far and wide. It is an opportunity to showcase our heritage, achievements, and accomplishments as a nation, and also the nobility of our leaders and people."
The Games' opening ceremony takes place on Friday on the River Seine at 9.30pm UAE time and will see the UAE flag carried aloft by Omar Al Marzouqi (equestrian) and Safiya Al Sayegh (cycling).
For the very first time, the opening ceremony is to be held outside a stadium, with a total of 94 boats carrying the athletes across a six-kilometre route in a ceremony that will last three hours and 45 minutes.
UAE @ Paris Olympics
Equestrian: Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); Khorloodoi Bishrelt (women's 52kg).
Cycling:
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m women's freestyle).
Athletics: Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
