Doha: Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was last night guaranteed at least a silver medal in the Asian Games karate tournament.
After making her way relatively easily through the preliminary rounds of the women's over 60kg kumite category, Shaikha Maitha met Kuwait's Abrar Abdulsayed in the quarterfinal.
Watched by her father, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE flag-bearer made short work of the Kuwaiti, hardly breaking a sweat to notch up an impressive 7-1 win.
Her semifinal bout against Indonesia's Mardiah Nasution was far more evenly matched. With scores tied on three apiece it looked as if Shaikha Maitha was heading for an energy-sapping tie break.
But in the dying seconds of the bout, a perfectly-timed punch caught the Indonesian square in the face, and propelled the UAE player into the final. Her challenger for the gold medal was Sofiya Kaspulatova of Uzbekistan, who had won through in the three preceding rounds 9-8, 5-2 and 7-3.
