Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Al Maktoum gave UAE the first karate gold in the 10th Pan Arab Games.

Shaikha Maitha defeated her Algerian opponent in 65-kg class in kumite.

Mona Al Gurg also did the UAE proud when she won two medals.

She won a silver medal in the individual kata and followed up the effort by clinching the bronze in the individual kumite.

Only a lack of experience prevented the talented young karateka from winning the gold.

Mona was in fine form in the first round of the individual kata as she easily got past her opponent from Bahrain. She repeated the performance in the second round, getting the better of her opponent from Jordan, to enter the final.

In the battle for the gold however, her lack of experience showed, as she went down to the home favourite Eman Laghouil of Algeria.

"This is a real learning experience for me," Mona admitted afterwards. "Bagging the silver medal was definitely the highlight of the competition for me."

In the individual kumite, Mona had an unlucky start as she lost 4-0 to her opponent from Syria. But this was a real eye-opener for her and she was seen in devastating form in the fight for the bronze where she defeated Jordan's Nour Al Attari 8-0.

"I was aware of the high level of my opponent in the final. It really did not bother me," Mona said. "But I wanted to go out there and prove to the Arab world that the UAE has quality fighters in karate, despite the fact that we have been late starters in this sport."

Mona credited her success to hard work and discipline.

"These are the most important things for an athlete. Now that we know where we stand, we also need to train harder for bigger battles ahead," she added.

"Maybe, I am not strong physically. But my strength lies in this great desire to do big things for my country. This is a much bigger duty."

Shaikha Maitha, who on Saturday spearheaded the UAE women's team to the bronze medal in the kata competition, was delighted with the success being achieved in the Games.

"We've won a medal in all the categories that we've participated in," said a proud Shaikha Maitha. "This is quite an achievement as this is the very first time that we are taking part in this competition."

Shaikha Maitha said that the karate team owed their success to her father, General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence.

"We owe all our success to him," Shaikha Maitha told Gulf News. "I am so pleased to win these medals. We made a perfect start on the opening day when we won the bronze in the team kata competition."

"We've been training hard for these championships," Shaikha Maitha stated. "We knew our standard as far as the Gulf is concerned. We needed to know what we could achieve here at the Arab level as we have the best from the entire Arab region participating at these Games."

With the best Arab athletes competing in Algiers, the UAE was looking to announce their arrival on the big stage.

"This is why a medal became important to the UAE. We wished for a medal and it really did not matter what colour it was," Shaikha Maitha said.

After that team bronze on the opening day yesterday's effort stood as witnesses that the UAE had arrived.

"Yes, we have arrived and we now know where we stand in comparison to the rest of the Arab world."