Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
The UAE show jumping team claimed a silver medal at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, following a thrilling team final at JRA Equestrian Park that saw the battle for gold go down to the very last rider.
Represented by Sheikha Latifah bint Ahmed Al Maktoum and Cornet XL, Humaid Al Muhairi (Mentos), Abdullah Al Muhairi (Hudson de Vains), and Omar Al Marzouqi (Enjoy de la Mure), the UAE produced five clears across the two rounds of competition to finish on just four faults, securing silver ahead of host nation Japan.
The UAE made a strong start to the competition, with Sheikha Latifah leading the team into the arena as its pathfinder and the second athlete through the starting beam.
An otherwise confident round with Cornet XL saw the combination finish on four faults in 73.92 seconds, before her three teammates delivered consecutive clear rounds. Humaid and Mentos stopped the clock in 71.95 seconds, Abdullah and Hudson de Vains followed in 73.42 seconds and Omar and Enjoy de la Mure completed the opening round in 71.91 seconds.
With the lowest score discarded, the UAE completed the opening round on zero faults, progressing to the second round in joint first place alongside Saudi Arabia.
Sheikha Latifah returned to the arena first for the UAE in the decisive second round, producing an excellent clear aboard Cornet XL in 74.49 seconds.
Humaid followed with another faultless performance on Mentos in 71.38 seconds, maintaining the team's clean score and increasing the pressure on its medal rivals.
Abdullah and Hudson de Vains were unfortunate to lower a single fence, finishing on four faults in 72.90 seconds and leaving the UAE's medal hopes resting on its fourth and final combination.
Omar and Enjoy de la Mure entered the arena knowing that a clear round would allow the team to finish on zero faults and potentially force a jump-off for gold.
Despite a determined performance, the pair also lowered one fence, finishing on four faults in 73.94 seconds and leaving the UAE with a final score of four faults. With the Emirati team ahead of Japan on time, the result guaranteed at least silver, but the gold medal remained undecided.
The final outcome rested with defending Asian Games champions Saudi Arabia, whose last rider, Ramzy Al Duhami, entered the arena with the gold medal at stake.
Under immense pressure, Al Duhami delivered the clear round his team needed to retain its Asian Games title, leaving the UAE to celebrate a hard-fought silver medal.
The UAE finished on four faults, ahead of Japan, which claimed bronze on the same score but with a slower aggregate time of 226.12 seconds compared with the UAE's 218.77 seconds. Saudi Arabia secured gold without adding a single fault to its score across the two rounds.
