Maitha proud of medal

Doha: Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who won a first-ever karate medal for Arab women at the Asian Games on Wednesday, dedicated her victory to her father, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

"My father is my first teacher. He gave me his precious advice before the final against my Uzbekistan opponent," she said yesterday.

"As you know, my father is a real sportsman. He advised me and pointed out the mistakes which I made in the quarter and semifinals. He told me to take care in the final and what to do to avoid any errors.

"But the most important lesson I learnt from my father was to accept defeat. This made me proud of the silver medal although I lost the gold," Shaikha Maitha added.

"My father is always saying that the one who works hard will benefit at the end and achieve the success. I keep this in mind whenever or wherever I participate. I am keen to work harder in training so that I will be fit and ready to achieve the success which my father is always encouraging me to strive for."

Shaikha Maitha said that she will benefit immensely from this Asian Games.

"I learnt a good lesson from losing in the final," she said. "I confess that I did underestimate my Uzbekistan rival a bit, however, it was a good lesson for the future." Shaikha Maitha said that the words of encouragement her father gave her after the final made her proud of what she achieved.

"My father congratulated me and told me that I may have lost the final but I have won many things," she said. "He also told me that what I had achieved by winning a historic silver in this big Asian gathering is something I have to be proud of."

Shaikha Maitha said that her standard in Doha has improved since the last Asian Games in Busan.

"In Busan, it was my first Asian Games appearance and I was a bit nervous.

"But my opponent was more experienced than me, she has been practising karate for over 14 years while I started only six years ago.

"My main target will be to win the gold at the Asian Games in 2010. I will work hard to develop my skills in order to achieve my goal."