Dubai: Abu Dhabi became the first educational zone to clinch overall honours twice when they walked away with the fourth UAE School Olympic Games that concluded at various venues in the capital on Saturday.
Watched by Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) along with a host of other senior government officials at the Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak School, the Abu Dhabi zone finished at the top of the standings with 25 gold, 17 silver and 20 bronze for a total of 62 to leave Al Ain and former champions Dubai in second and third places, respectively.
“It is heartening to witness so many strong team and individual performances from gifted youngsters in these eight different sporting disciplines. But I feel that our task commences now. We need to all get together and foster this talent and encourage these athletes towards higher goals,” Hareb told Gulf News.
“Now is the time for the respective associations and federations to step in and encourage these athletes who will one day become the future of UAE sports on the global stage. Much of the hard has been done already in identifying talent, and now I am confident we can take this to the next stage,” he added.
Going into the second day on Friday, Abu Dhabi had managed to win one gold more than the 15 claimed by athletes from the Dubai zone. However, on the final day of the three-day competition it was Abu Dhabi breaking away early with a majority of their medals come from the Jiu-Jitsu and archery competitions.
Challenging the capital for the top spot was Al Ain as they dominated the Jiu-Jitsu with a total of 30 medals including 13 gold, eleven silver and six bronze. Ajman was the surprise of the pack as they zone claimed five gold and a couple of silver to be second in the competition, while Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah followed with two gold medals apiece.
Among individual performers, Dubai’s Mohammad Al Sayegh hogged the limelight as he won individual gold in the boys under-12 fencing. “I want to continue in this sport and one day bring glory to my country,” the youngster said.
Shaikh Salim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, President, UAE Fencing Association was pleased with the growing number of UAE youngsters in fencing since the start of the UAE School Olympic Games. “The ones who have started three years back have shown huge improvement technically and mentally in the sport. But we need to still continue with our focus on younger boys and girls so that we create an even bigger bank of fencers,” he said.
Abdul Mohsin Al Dossary from the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) urged clubs to step in, undertake and assist in the youth development programmes in other sport besides football. “We are in a much better position of bringing in Olympic medals through individual sports rather than by playing football. We must have more involvement from clubs to uplift individual sport,” Al Dossary said.