Dubai: When Jomana Elmaghrabi of Egypt gracefully entered the water on Thursday afternoon at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Sports Complex, she made Dubai sporting history. Elmaghrabi was competing in the synchronised swimming section of the first International Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming Championships being held until today, and as neither of these sports have been held in Dubai before, her routine broke new ground.
While Elmaghrabi performed well, she couldn’t quite match the efforts of her competitors, and Dubai’s first synchronised swimming gold medal went to Evanthia Makrygianni of Greece in the solo technical section.
These championships come hot on the heels of the Fina/Arena Swimming World Cup, which was staged last week, and marks another milestone in aquatic sport in the region.
Teams from Greece, Egypt, Serbia and Kuwait have been battling it out for water polo honours this weekend, while teams from China, Greece and Egypt have been taking part in the synchronised swimming.
Following the solo technical section, the duet technical competition in the synchronised swimming saw Greece triumph again, with the team of Evgenia Kafetzi and Eleni Papandreou just edge out the talented Chinese duo of Li Lu and Yu Guo by .75 points.
However, Greece were unable to make it three out of three wins, as the Chinese junior team showed its quality in the team technical competition. With the flair and precision we have come to expect from China in sports like gymnastics and diving, the team outclassed their competitors with an entertaining and vibrant display, winning by 3.0 points.
In the first ever international water polo match in Dubai, the European champions, Club Partizan Raiffeisen of Serbia, showed the depth of their talent as their junior team took to the water against the Kuwait national team. Partizan Raiffeisen led from the outset and, in a dominant display of skill and physicality, defeated the Kuwaitis 15-3.
The next match was a much more balanced affair as Heliopolis of Egypt met Olympiakos of Greece. In a hard-fought match, both teams were in the early hunt for victory, but Greece gradually pulled ahead. Although Egypt kept fighting back, they could not overcome the superior Greek team, who went on to win 17-9.
The first International Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming Championships are being staged in the lead-up to the ninth Asian Swimming Championships, which will be held in Dubai from November 15-25. This will be the first time in the history of the Asian Championships and Dubai that all four disciplines of swimming (50m pool), synchronized swimming, water polo and diving will be held in one event in one venue.
Action in the pool continues today, with the synchronised swimming competition running from 2-5pm, followed by the water polo from 5.30-8.30pm.
Entry is free to the venue, the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex, which is on Dubai Bypass Road (E611).
