Other Sports July 2008

Follow the flag

Shaikha Maitha leads the UAE’s Beijing challenge

Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum will hoist the UAE's flag at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as well as competing in the 67kg division of women’s taekwondo.

Shaikha Maitha has already been elected ‘Best Female Arab Sportsperson’ for the second consecutive year in a poll conducted throughout the Arab region by the popular website Maktoub.com.
She took most votes among 13 sportswomen from the 10 Arab countries, receiving 64.18 per cent of the total and leaving Egypt's Aya Madani in second place with a tally of 6.3 per cent.

Shaikha Maitha created history when she became the first UAE woman to win an international gold when she won gold in the +65 kgs category at the 10th Pan Arab Games held in Algeria in 2004.
In the same competition, she won a silver in the Open category and two bronze medals in the Team Kumite and Team Kata competitions.
During last year’s 11th Pan Arab Games in Egypt, Shaikha Maitha took gold in the +65kgs taekwondo category along with bronze in the Open category.

Probably her most memorable performance came during the 2006 Doha Asian Games when she won the silver medal in the +60 kgs category.

She has been a regular competitor at various international competitions including the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the 2002 World Championships in Madrid and the 2003 World Championships in Marseilles, while also being a regular at various European Karate Golden Leagues held in Italy, France, and Germany.

Last year, she was bestowed with the World Fair Play Award for 2006 in the category 'Sports Career' by the International Committee for Fair Play (CTFP) in Paris.

She also led the UAE girls karate team at an open meet in Grado, Italy, earlier this year to a haul of one gold, four silver and one bronze at the day-long competition. Nearly 650 athletes from 16 countries participated in the competition that was held to mark the end of a ten-day camp.

Shaikha Maitha herself was inspirational, winning the silver in the over 60 kgs category.

In preparation for Beijing, Shaikha Maitha has trained with the South Korean women’s karate squad, as well as opponents from Morocco and Egypt.

“We had a good experience with the Moroccan side, and it was very natural to take a higher step by playing against more experienced side,” she said.

“We have great benefits considering that Korea is the place where karate was originated and all the players who took part in the training camp are gold medalist.

We have been training twice a day and at least, there is nothing to fear now.

“I owe it to my father, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. He gave us everything and provided the players with all kinds of support, encouragement and guidance. He told us to keep training as training with quality players will lead to success.”

Both Egypt and Morocco have qualified for the Beijing Games that start on August 8.

The training camp with the Egyptian team included sessions on fighting techniques and exercise drills. The last two days were dedicated to matches between Shaikha Maitha and Egyptian team members.

She continues her preparations for the Olympics with another training camp with the Turkey national team.

Shaikha Maitha is also the honorary President of the UAE Karate and Taekwondo Federation.