Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the endurance event at Emirates Endurance Village yesterday as part of the ongoing GCC Women's Games held under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation.
His presence seemed to have an immediate impact on the singles, teams and open competitions. In the singles category, the UAE won all the top places with Afra Al Suwaidi finishing first in 3.05.51 hours for an average speed of 29.06 km/h. Shaikha Mahrah Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum came second in 3.12.38 hours (29.03 km/h) while Sara Mohammad Al Jaber finished third in 3.12.39 hours (28.00 km/h).
Team event
The UAE won the teams event followed by Kuwait in second place and Qatar third. The UAE team consisted of Shaikha Mahrah, Sara, Afra and Fatima Jasem. They dedicated their victory to Shaikh Mohammad, and Shaikha Fatima for her efforts and support to the women of the UAE.
In the Open category, which is not counted within the Games, Haya Mohammad Al Shinqeeti came first followed by Bayan Abdullah and Alya Ali Mohammad in third place, all from the UAE.
The UAE also dominated in the showjumping event winning the gold and bronze medal with Alya Al Bandari winning first place in 41.59 seconds, followed by Mariam Al Ali from Qatar in second place in 50.57 seconds while Nadia Abdul Aziz Taryam, of the UAE, finished third after committing a single mistake.
Misra Ebrahim from Qatar finished fourth and Shaoug Al Nuwais from the UAE came fifth.
"I am overjoyed and proud to dedicate this gold medal to Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak for her as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for her continuous support to the UAE women in all fields of life.
"This victory will be a motive for me to do even better in the future competitions to hoist the flag of our country high in all competitions whether regional, continental or international."
Shooting bronze
The UAE added a new medal in the shooting competition in which they won two gold and a silver after winning the bronze medal of the singles event in the air gun.
Qatar won the gold with Bahiya Mansour Al Hamad from Qatar winning the gold with a score of 498.9 followed by Mariam Arzagi from Kuwait who won the silver with 494.7 and Afra Al Badi, of the UAE, with 494.4 points.
Taekwond: Maitha opens campaign
Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the captain of the UAE national teams, will face Omani Niven Khalfan Sulaiman in the Open over 73 kg category today in the second and final day of the taekwondo competitions in the ongoing GCC Women's Gamesbeing held in the indoor stadium at the UAE Judo and Wrestling Federation. The competitions are expected to start from 7pm.
