Rio Olympics beckons UAE stars

The UAE are likely to field a contingent of at least nine members and possibly up to 15, depending on the wild card entry process that are still on for the Rio Olympics scheduled from August 5 to 21.
The UAE National Olympic Committee is expecting a few more athletes to make the grade before the Games. This includes wild cards in swimming (men), track and field athletics and shooting, if granted by the International Olympic Committee. There could possibly be one wild card each for weightlifting and sailing. At the moment the nation is certain to be represented by those who have already qualified in athletics (2), shooting (3), cycling (1) and judo (3).
The two women athletes who have achieved qualifying standards are Betlhem Desalegn in the 5,000m and Alia Saeed Mohammed in her pet 10,000m event while UAE road cycling specialist Yousif Mirza has also made the grade. The national shooters who achieved quota places by virtue of their best finishes at the 2014 and 2015 ISSF World Championships, the 2015 ISSF World Cup Series, and the Asian Championships, are Shaikh Saeed bin Maktoum, Khalid Al Kabi and Saif bin Futtais. Judokas Victor Scvortov, Sergiu Toma and Ivan Remarenco are through to the Brazilian showpiece after podium finishes in the qualifying events last year.
With an additional budget the UAE is focused for the Rio chapter, and with the theme, 'For the continuing support to attain the desired goals and make more achievements at all levels', the nation is looking  to improve upon their performance at the London 2012 Games, where the UAE failed to win a medal. The London event saw the UAE soccer team apart from the eight individual athletes take part.
Shaikh Ahmed Hasher Al Maktoum, double trap shooter, won gold, the UAE's only medal in the Game's history, at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
For veteran marksman Shaikh Saeed, a former gold medallist at the world cup and Asian meets, this will be the fifth straight Olympics. Coached by Shaikh Ahmed, Al Kaabi went a tough grind to qualify for Rio Games. Al Kaabi, inexperienced compared to the top shooters in the world, took up the sport hardly three years ago. He made it to the Olympics by winning the double trap gold at the Asian Shooting Qualifiers in New Delhi earlier this year, ahead of Kuwait's Fehaid Al Deehani, a bronze medal winner at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2012 London Games.
The Asian Shooting Qualifiers in New Delhi in February this year proved to be a good hunting ground for the marksmen from the UAE. Apart from Shaikh Saeed, two-time ISSF World Cup medallist Saif bin Futtais pocketed the men's skeet gold in New Delhi which was the final Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition for the sport.
Alia and Bethlem qualified to represent the UAE with Alia making the 10,000m grade and Bethlem bagging the right to compete in the 5,000m. The duo were recently seen in an open qualification one-off event in the 10,000m in Dubai recently.
In fact, the top three finishers in Dubai bettered the Qualification System and Entry Standard time of 32.15 minutes set up by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Alia had already qualified for the Summer Olympics before going into the 10,000m event in Dubai last month. She had had set a national record time of 31:51.86 minutes at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and re-wrote the national mark at 31.09.77 during the Dubai run.
Twenty-eight year old Al Mirza, the undisputed king in road cycling here, won silver at the Asian Cycling Championship last season, which got him a booking for the Rio showdown.
Scvortov, Toma and Remarenco will provide the UAE with some hope as medal prospects in judo. Scvortov is rated 14 in world rankings; Toma won gold medal at a recent Tashkent tournament while Remarenco won bronze at a world meet last season.
All the athletes are in training at the moment, mostly abroad. The UAE Olympic Committee is liaising with the individual federations regarding the progress made by these athletes. Mirza who was involved in a road accident in Jumeirah last season, is recovering well and looks certain to be fit for the Olympics this year.
moni@khaleejtimes.com