Cairo: Connecting a head shot in the dying seconds of the over 65kg category final was enough to secure Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum the gold medal in the karate competition at the Pan Arab Games.
And her delight showed in the high five she gave her coach after a momentous victory over her Algerian rival. Thursday's gold medal victory further underlines Shaikha Maitha's credentials in the regional competitions.
She had already secured a bronze medal amid Cairo Stadium's carnival atmosphere in the open category.
In the over 65kg class she made a tentative start against her Lebanese opponent, Farah Salman, in the first round but did just enough to win the three-minute bout 2-0, without looking troubled by the shorter girl.
But the fired-up Syrian that she faced in the next round proved a completely different matter. Unfazed, Shaikha Maitha raised her game to combat the Syrian's aggression, making audible contact with the Syrian's face within the first ten seconds of the bout.
Shaikha Maitha went on to record two more direct hits and finished up without dropping a point.
She fared less well in the first round of the open category, going down 1-0 in a close match against her Tunisian opponent.
Out of the running for the gold and silver, Shaikha Maitha next faced a tactical fight for the bronze which saw the buzzer go without a point being scored, but the referee awarded the victory to Shaikha Maitha as the more aggressive fighter over her Algerian rival.
The UAE's Mohammad Khamis, who was competing in the open category against another Tunisian, was rushed from the tatami (mat) in a wheelchair following a heavy blow to the stomach. As a result of his injury he forfeited the match, but the UAE are now appealing that decision.
Wednesday evening's karate competition yielded a silver medal for the UAE's Randa Mohammad Ebrahim, but her teammate Hiba Abu Harmoush did not fare so well and was knocked out of the 53-60kg category.
In the men's competition, Khalid Sulieman was defeated by Algerian Hicham Buleef in the 60kg and Mohammad Khamis Al Meshrikh lost to Mohammad Jadid from Jordan in the 65kg category.
