Dubai: Ahmad Al Kamali, head of the technical board for the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAENOC), is targeting a record medal haul at the forthcoming Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4.
The UAE have won a total 23 medals — three gold, 11 silver and nine bronze — in nine appearances at the Asian Games since 1978, which has been held every four years since 1951.
Their best performance was in 2006 in Doha, Qatar, where they won a total 10 medals, consisting of three gold, four silver and three bronze. Al Kamali, who is also the president of the UAE Athletics Federation and an International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) council member, expects to better that tally this year.
“We have some good athletes in shooting, horse jumping, athletics and swimming,” he said. “We are hoping for some good results compared to the last Asian Games in 2010 in Guangzhou, China, where we won five medals [four silver and one bronze].
“We are concentrating a lot in athletics where we are targeting two to three medals and at least one gold medal.
“Alia [Mohammad Saeed] the 5000 metre and 10,000m specialist is ready, as is Betty [Betlhem Desalegn Belayneh] who specialises in 1500m and 5000m. Betty can surprise everyone, she won two gold medals in the Asian Athletics Championships in Pune last year and I hope she will get on the podium again.
“In shooting, we have double trap specialist Shaikh Juma [Bin Dalmouk Al Maktoum] and skeet specialist Shaikh Saeed [Bin Rashid Al Maktoum], who are both at a very high level, then we have hopes of medalling in horsejumping, Taekwondo, Bowling and football.”
Al Kamali added that surpassing the record of three gold medals or 10 total medals would be a source of immense pride for the country.
“We are targeting three gold medals and eight to 10 medals overall. With good preparation and a lot of hard work we are hoping to reach that target.
“If we surpass 10, it will be the best performance we’ve ever had and would be a moment of huge pride for the UAE,” he added.
