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Maitha sets Asian Games as the next target for team
The UAE's champion Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has charted an ambitious training schedule starting from today as part of the team's preparations for next month's Asian Games.
- By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 May 3, 2009
- Shaikha Maitha (2nd left) faces a race against time to prepare for the Asian Games next month.
- Image Credit:
Dubai: The UAE's champion Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has charted an ambitious training schedule starting from today as part of the team's preparations for next month's Asian Games.
"From now, it is going to be a fight against time. We cannot think of any rest till the Asian Games are over," Shaikha Maitha told Gulf News in an exclusive interview after returning with a gold and silver medal from the Coupe de France Karate Championships last week.
The UAE has invited some of the top teams from Europe to train with them at the Zabeel Club starting with the French national team, from today.
Teams from Germany and Italy will follow in the next two weeks as the UAE athletes prepare to hold centrestage at the Asian Games in Doha.
Shaikha Maitha won a silver medal going down to French World Champion Emily Mottet while her young teammate Haya Juma struck gold in the junior category.
"I think this was a demanding competition, considering the fact that we were competing against top-class athletes from all over the world," Shaikha Maitha said.
The UAE champion has had the Asian Games strongly within her sights for the past few months. "And everything that we do from now on is geared towards getting prepared for such an important competition," she said.
"We would have loved to have some of the Asian countries coming down to Dubai to practice with us. But none of them will be willing to show their secret weapons as they get ready for the Games."
Last week's competition on the outskirts of Paris, however, was able to give the UAE a fair gauge of their standard.
"We can safely say that we are much better than a lot of these top athletes," Shaikha Maitha said.
It was also a learning curve for the UAE squad. "I learnt a lot from this competition.
"It was a great opportunity for us to fight against some of the best in the world, and come through with two medals," she said.
But the major disadvantage for the UAE team is still its fight against time to be best prepared for a prestigious competition like the Asiad.
"We are trying a lot of short cuts to reach our goal. And I think there is a noticeable improvement in our standard," she said.
"But there are certain aspects in this sport, such as muscle conditioning, and these cannot be either ignored or assimilated in a short time.
"Under all these circumstances, I think we are doing our best."
"We are trying a lot of short cuts to reach our goal. And I think there is a noticeable improvement in our standard."
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