Doha The four UAE riders taking part in the show jumping competition at the 12th Arab Games in Doha, Qatar, will not return to the UAE at the end of the Games Thursday, but will stay for a week to take part in the qualifications for the 2012 London Olympics.
This was disclosed by Taleb Dhaher Al Muhairi, the Secretary General of the UAE Equestrian Federation and the manager of the equestrian team in the Games.
"Shaikh Shakhboot Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Shaikha Latifa Al Maktoum, Nadia Taryam and Mohammad Al Ouwais will compete today in the Games individual show jumping and then stay in Doha for the Olympic qualifications next week, with the participation of riders from Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, UAE and South Africa for two seats in London," Al Muhairi said.
"Each country will be represented by four riders. We have a good chance of reaching the London Olympic Games and we hope to achieve that objective."
Regarding the result of the UAE Team in the Games, in which they finished fourth, Al Muhairi said: "We finished the two early rounds with no penalties just like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, but we were not lucky in the jump-off and we finished fourth because of time and jump penalties. I hope our riders will do better today (Thursday) in the individual competitions."
