Dubai: A former board member from the governing body of tennis in the UAE has expressed full faith in the sport system in place in the country, holding the view that it will eventually promote a surge in sporting talent across the UAE.
Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister for Development and Infrastructure, who made time to play tennis with a group of special needs sportsmen as part of the UAE Sports Day on Thursday, confided that the system adopted by the UAE sports sector will reap fruits in the near future.
Dr Al Nuaimi handed out the winners trophies to Belgium and Belarus after they successfully defended their titles in the men’s and women’s categories at the 23rd Nations Cup tennis tournament that concluded at Al Nasr Leisureland (ANL) last week.
Belgium won 2-1 against the Philippines, who finished runners-up for the second straight year, while Belarus finished with an unbeaten record after beating Philippines ‘A’ in their last round-robin fixture in the women’s competition.
A major part of Thursday evening had been earmarked for various tennis activities involving special needs sportsmen from Al Thiqah Club, Sharjah. Dr Al Nuaimi mixed around freely with the sportsmen and even played a few games of mini tennis at the ANL courts.
“Sport unifies everyone, and it is this quality that can further aid our country’s push towards excellence in every sphere, especially in sports,” Dr Al Nuaimi told Gulf News.
“I believe in our wise leadership that has set a series of challenges before us, and I am certain the UAE will be in a strong position in every sport in the future. As far as tennis goes, things will not be too different as we have the next crop of young players coming through to take over from long-serving players like Omar [Behroozian] and Mahmoud [Nader],” he added.
“It is no secret that to make any sport grow one needs the introduction of young blood. We have done all that we can during our playing days. This is time for the younger generation to take over so that sport can see continuity and development. We need to keep this momentum going,” Dr Al Nuaimi observed.
“What we really need is to engage families by letting them know that tennis is a family-oriented sport and that is safe. I feel we are starting a new movement with the hope that many more youngsters will join in, and that, in turn, will make us very happy,” he added.
