Tears of joy for young UAE Olympian Nada Al Badwawi

The UAE sports delegation participated in the opening ceremony of the XXXI 2016 Summer Olympics held Friday at Maracana Stadium in Copacabana area, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The UAE parade was led by the Emirati talented swimmer Nada Al Badwawi who had the honour of hoisting the UAE’s flag at this mega event.

The parade also included Ibrahim Abdul Malik, Secretary-General of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare; Advisor Mohammed Al Kamali, Secretary General of the UAE National Olympic Committee; Dawood Al Hajri; Assistant Secretary-General of the UAE National Olympic Committee, Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Chairman of the Olympic Planning Committee; and Abdul Mohsen Fahad Al Dosari, Chairman of the Technical Olympic Committee, in addition to the Emirati athletes, officials and coaches.

Athletes from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enter the stadium. (Reuters)
 
Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum will arrive in Rio Saturday to join Saif bin Fetais and participate in skeet competition to be held on August 12-13.

Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum had participated earlier in the same sport at the World Championships in Brazil, and therefore  delayed his arrival.

Khalid Al Kaabi will kick start the shooting competitions in the preliminary round of the double trap on Wednesday.

Yousef Mirza is expected to return home today after participating in the 240 km cycling event.
 
Emirati swimmer Yaqoub Al Saadi will participate in the 100 backstroke swimming competitions on Day II of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
 
Al Saadi said the swimming coach Eto had spared no effort to put all swimmers on the right track and he only strived to improve his score and prove that he deserved to qualify for Rio.
 
The Emirati swimming talent, Nada Al Badwawi, could not control herself while hoisting the UAE flag in Rio at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and burst into tears of joy at the mega event.

"Competing against the world’s best swimmers in the Olympics is special and Rio Olympics will give me a strong boost to do my best in the upcoming competition."
 
Nada highlighted the importance of starting preparations for the upcoming swimming events immediately after Rio Olympics. She aspired to undergo training at external training camps and participate in international, continental and Arab tournaments on a regular basis so that she can score achievements.
 
Rida Ayashi, the Tunisian coach of the UAE Weightlifting National Team, said the participation in the Olympics is different from all other tournaments.

"Aisha Al Balushi strives to leave her mark as she makes her debut in Rio Olympics. Though a medal is unlikely, but our target is that Ayesha ranks among the world’s top 10 swimmers."
 

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