Dubai: A few of the UAE athletes have already landed in Yakutia for the start of the Sixth Children of Asia International Sports Games that will get under way in the capital of the Sakha Republic from 3pm on Wednesday.
Nearly 3,100 athletes from 45 countries are competing in 22 sports disciplines during the two-week long Games.
The 105-strong UAE delegation has 82 athletes who have all graduated from the UAE School Olympic Games programme that was initiated by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President, UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC).
The UAE will be competing in five disciplines including swimming, archery, table tennis, athletics and taekwondo.
Swimming, archery and table tennis teams of the UAE have already landed in Yakutia before competition gets under way at various venues on Thursday.
The UAE Swimming team comprises of Khalifa Qais Rashid, Abdullah Al Shamsi, Abdullah Al Hammadi, Hamdan Abdullah Khoury, Amer Shahdad, Mohammad Salim Ali, Omar Ahmad, and Yousuf Al Hosni along with coach Seo Zoltan.
The archery boys’ team includes Saqr Al Ketbi and Saud Al Balushi, while the girls’ team includes Aliaa Mohammad, Ghalia Hussain, coaches Suha Mohammad and Ahmad Ghanem along with Kim Jonijho, the UAE NOC expert.
The table tennis boy’s team includes Abdullah Mohammad Al Baloushi, Salahuddin Abdul Hameed Al Baloushi, while the girls’ comprises of Mariam Mohammad Muqbali and Shahad Faisal Bin Khuwair along with team administrator Abdul Rahman Al Menhali and Alexei Yvermov and Anita Srjsuan as coaches.
The main stadium of Yakutia will host the opening ceremony that will consist of demonstrations narrating the culture and history of the host country.