Dubai: The UAE have crashed to their second straight defeat in the volleyball competition at the ongoing second GCC Games in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE lost 3-0 to the hosts on the first day and on Tuesday evening they went down 3-2 to Oman to fall out of the running for a medal.
However, the UAE have done well in bagging four points in the goalball competition for the visually impaired. In their first match, the UAE equalised in the last minute for an exciting 4-4 draw against Qatar, and on Tuesday they beat Bahrain 7-4 to be assured of at least a bronze medal.
The UAE has sent a squad of 114 athletes to participate in 14 different sporting disciplines from a total of 15 in the GCC Games.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC), leads the squad, while Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Vice-President and Chairman of the UAE NOC Executive Council, is the chef de mission.
The UAE bagged a total of 21 medals, including four gold — all of them in karate, nine silvers and eight bronze medals when the inaugural edition of the Games was held in Bahrain in 2011.
