Sport | Other Sports
UAE official confident of healthy medal haul from team in Athens
70 athletes to compete in 13 events after thorough preparation
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:01 June 24, 2011
- Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News
- Sultan Saif Al Khaili picked up the first gold medal for the UAE when he triumphed in the equestrian competition for boys at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games being held in Athens. From left: Wafa Sulaiman Al Kindi, Aisha Saif Al Daheri, Sultan Saif Salem Al Khaili, Mohammad Zubair Al Tajjar, members of the UAE equestrian team, pose with their trainer, Lilian Sternvad, while preparing for the Athens Special Olympics Games.
Dubai: A top UAE official is quietly confident of a much better performance at the Special Olympics that get under way in Athens tomorrow.
"We are a people who have more than once shown our capabilities on the field especially at the Special Olympics, and this time will be no different," Thani Juma Bereggad, vice- chairman of the UAE Special Olympics and chairman of the Dubai Club for Special Needs told Gulf News from Germany yesterday.
Berregad, who will join up with the squad in Greece, was upbeat about the UAE's chances of bettering their previous best haul of 28 medals in Shanghai 2007.
"We have put in that much hard work and effort in ensuring our athletes are in prime form for these Games, and that is where the confidence comes from," Berregad said.
Strong team
The UAE team which had travelled to Athens is 70-strong, compared with the 40 who went to Shanghai.
There are also 50 officials accompanying the squad with members participating in badminton, powerlifting, volleyball, table tennis, bowling, bocce, cycling, football, athletics, equestrian, swimming and basketball.
"Everyone had a chance to prove what they were capable of leading up to the Games and the ones who are making the trip are the ones who we believe will bring glory to our country," Berregad said.
However, the official rued the lack of external exposure for the athletes during their preparation due to factors out of their control.
"The rules stipulate that we keep bringing in new faces during the Games and this has resulted in major changes for our squad. But we are quietly confident that these athletes are capable of returning with a much better medal haul this time," Berregad said.
"We have set a goal and hopefully we can achieve this objective," he said.
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