Incheon: Five days into the Asian Games, UAE athletes continued their quest for a medal at Incheon on Wednesday but without any success.
The three UAE sailors failed to make a strong start on the opening day of the competition. Mohammad Abdul Karim Al Hammadi was the best of the lot after finishing eighth out of 10 participants in the Optimist men’s dinghy class at the end of four races.
Hamad Ebrahim Al Hammadi was also off the pace when he finished in 11th position overall from among the 12 competitors in the Laser men’s dinghy class, while Salama Adnan Al Mansouri was eighth after three races in the women’s Optimist dinghy class. The 12-round sailing competition will continue until October 1.
With cyclone-like conditions bringing in stronger waves and currents at the Wangsan Sailing Marina, none of the three sailors were particularly pleased with their performances.
“For me this is a huge learning curve. I found it difficult to handle the conditions out there but now, after three races, I think I will improve and climb up in the standings,” Hamad told Gulf News.
“The conditions were tough. I tried my best to see if I could be part of the early pack, but somehow it was quite tricky with the currents,” Mohammad said.
Twelve-year-old Salama Al Mansouri, who is making her debut in the Asian Games like her 14-year-old colleague Mohammad, was also not happy with her form. “I am here for the experience. I am confident I can make a good progress in the standings as the days go by,” she said.
Abdullah Mohammad Al Obaidli, Board Member, Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, who is accompanying the three-member team with coach Hadi Zanadi, admitted that the Asian Games is meant to be a learning experience for the UAE sailors. “Asia is among the strongest continents in the sport. So to compete against sailors from Singapore, Korea, Japan and China is tough for these youngsters,” Al Obaidli said.
“The main intention of bringing these young sailors here is to give them the exposure of being in an international event. They have so much to learn for the future,” he added.
Earlier in the morning, UAE swimmer Mubarak Mohammad ended eighth in his heat in the men’s 100m breaststroke at the Munhak Aquatics Centre. Mohammad couldn’t even achieve his personal best as he finished in a time of 1:05.81 as Japan’s Naoya Tomita went on to win the heat in a time of 1:02.20.
“Obviously, I am disappointed with the timing and the result. I know I am capable of a much stronger time, but that did not happen today,” he said.
“I have one more event [50m breaststroke] on Friday and hopefully I can do much better and at least set a personal best time in the pool,” he added.
