UAE's sailor confident at Olympics

UAE sailer Adil Khalid has been covered in a veil of secrecy as he moves to the final phase of his preparation for his first-ever Olympics.

He does not want to reveal anything about his training methods.

No wonder he is the first one out on the Al Raha Beach in Abu Dhabi going through the paces with his coach Omar Mohammad Bazara.

By 7 am, he is done with his training schedule.

"I want it to be this way," Adil Khalid told Gulf News as he took a short break from his daily regieme.

It has been a long journey to reach the qualifying standard in the Laser class.

Starting from the beginning of 2008, the UAE sailor entered a series of qualifying events with regattas in Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Austria.

"It was a six-month long plan to attain the Olympic qualifying standard and all this was done in total secret and I was quite enjoying it," said Adil Khalid.

Things changed for the UAE sailor after he struck gold at the Pan-Arab Games held in Egypt last year.

With the Dubai coastline undergoing drastic changes, he was had to look towards Abu Dhabi to maintain his momentum towards next month's Beijing Games.

Sailing club

The Emirates Sailing Club (ESC) were more than supportive as chairman Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan stepped in to assure the aspiring sailor that he could use the club as long as he wanted to.

Adil Khalid took up the challenge as he set his eyes on qualifying for Beijing.

"My sponsors Red Bull, Al Masaood and T5 Laser Company also helped me with all the assistance I needed.

"Shaikh Sultan and Shaikh Khalid made sure I did not fall short of anything.

"So how else am I supposed to repay this trust if not by winning in Beijing?" said Adil.

He will be joining more than 400 sailors from 61 nations for the competitions along the Yellow River at Qingdao.

This will be the first time ever that a sailor from the UAE is taking part in an Olympic Games - Luxembourg is the other country making its debut.

"I have received everything that I could have ever wanted to get ready for such a prestigious competition.

"The least I can do is come back with a medal and make my country be proud of my achievement," said Adil Khalid.

His performance in Beijing will be crucial for the next generation of sailors being reared at the Emirates Sailing Club in Abu Dhabi.

"A lot depends on the medal I am going to bring home this time.

"Beijing is the most important step for the sport as it will start a revolution in sailing here.

"I am going to China to bring back the gold medal," said the young UAE sailor.

Name: Adil Khalid

Born in: Dubai

Coach: Omar Mohammad Bazara

Manager: Abdullah Al Obaidli

Trains at: Emirates Sailing School, Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan with sponsorship from Red Bull, Al Masaood and T5 Laser Company.

Achievements: Gold medal at 2007 Pan-Arab Games, Egypt

Among the 400 plus competitors are four gold medal winning teams from Athens, who return to defend their titles.

The British Women's Keelboat team also features two of the three crew who won the gold medal in 2004, while a further three gold medallists from Athens will compete in different events to those in which they triumphed four years ago.

All competing athletes will face a new challenge in Qingdao with the introduction of the new Medal Race format for all 11 events. Following an initial opening series held over five days of racing, the top ten crews will progress to a final Medal Race where points scores are doubled and the 2008 Olympic Champions will be decided.

The confirmation of a place at the Olympics this time was different too: it is the culmination of four years of more than 2,500 sailors competing at ten qualification regattas across Europe, Oceania and North America to secure their nation a place at the Games.

Among the sailors who have realised the first part of their Olympic dream are 14 athletes who have received support through the Olympic Solidarity Scholarship Programme.

Great Britain has topped the sailing medal tally at the past two Games and leading their charge again this year will be triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie. The British sailor, a member of the Emirates Team New Zealand team at the America's Cup last year, won his first Olympic gold medal in the Laser dinghy in 2000, before switching to the larger Finn to win gold again in Athens four years ago. He will start as a hot favourite to defend that title in the Heavyweight Dinghy event in Qingdao.

What is the Laser Standard?

The Laser Standard is also called the International Laser Class. It is a single-handed boat, which means it can be sailed by just one person.

The design of the boat is by Bruce Kirby and it emphasizes simplicity and performance. The Laser Standard is by far the most popular boat and a commonly cited reason for its popularity is that it is robust and simple to rig and sail.

Though 'Laser' is mainly used to refer to the Laser Standard - the largest of the sail plan rigs available for the Laser hull - there are other 'Laser'-branded boats like the Laser II and the Laser Pico (these are referred as 'Laser 2' and 'Pico').

As a one-design class of sailboat, all Lasers are built to the same specifications. The hull is 4.23 metres long with a waterline length of 3.18 metres. The hull weight is 56.7 kgs, which makes the boat light enough to lift onto a car top rack.

The prototype was originally named the 'Weekender'. It was renamed 'Laser' and officially unveiled at the New York Boat Show in 1971. The Laser became a men's Olympic class boat in 1996 and a special Olympic edition of the boat was released the same year.

The greatest champion of Laser Class is Robert Scheidt from Brazil. He won the world championships eight times and won two gold and one silver Olympic medals.

Emirates Sailing School

On May 1, 1996, His Highness Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, and chairman of Emirates Heritage Club issued an executive order to form a modern sailing committee with the aim of promoting modern and traditional sailing within the country.

The sailing department now offers a range of training facilities in modern and traditional water sports along with the organisation of national and regional competitions.

Urged by the success of the students being trained by the sailing department it was decided to form the Emirates Sailing School under the patronage of Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The team worked tirelessly and the school was finally opened on July 3, 2000.