Dubai: Officials from the UAE national golf team have heralded their side's 2011-2012 season as their best ever, following their recognition at the Shaikh Khalifa Awards for Sporting Excellence last weekend.
Recognised by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Shaikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF), the UAE's golfing achievements have been granted a royal seal of approval for only the third time in history.
The prestigious honour reflects the UAE's success over the past 12 months. At the GCC Championships in Dubai earlier this month, the UAE won team and individual gold for the first time.
This historic feat mimicked the nation's first Arab Games success in Qatar at the end of last year, when the UAE also clinched gold medals in the team and individual categories. It also followed the best performance by an Emirati on the international circuit after Ahmad Al Musharrakh finished 24th out of 120 in Singapore's Asian Amateur Championship last September.
Steady improvement
On top of this, the UAE recorded their best ever finish in the Nomura Cup — 14th out of 18 — in Fiji last August. The team also won bronze at the senior level and gold medals at the junior individual level at the Arab Championships in Morocco last September.
Saeed Al Budoor, EGF general manager, said: "This is by far our best season to date. We've come close in the past with bronze and silver but we've never won Arab Games and GCC Championship gold medals before, least of all both in the same season. So there's no question this is the most successful year in the history of the team.
"We have to look ahead to improving our Asian standing now and bettering our position internationally. The Eisenhower Trophy in September is a big target. We finished 50th last year and aim for a finish in the 30s or 40s [this year]. There's also the forthcoming Arab Championships in September. We want to grab this title because then we would have cleared every honour in the region inside the space of 12 months."
UAE head coach Chris Vallendar added: "Recognition by the government is very important to the players. This will give them greater pride and incentive to keep striving for more.
"Winning the GCC Championship and Arab Games undoubtedly makes this one of our greatest periods of success in recent history, but what is also significant is the movement in grassroots golf as a result. Over 100 junior Emiratis are on our books and seven have already got handicaps and begun competing regionally. Now that they've seen what the older players can achieve and receive recognition for, the gauntlet has been thrown down to future generations of Emirati golfers."
