Rich haul of medals for UAE eves at GCC Women’s Games

UAE’s women Taekwondo team has harvested four medals (one gold, one silver and two bronze) in the GCC Women’s Games, being hosted by Kuwait, raising the UAE tally to 20.

Badrya Mohammed snatched the gold medal in the Taekwondo 46kg category.

The UAE teams won four gold medals, six silver and 10 bronze medals while competing in five games.

UAE athletes won 11 medals in fencing, four in Taekwondo, two in bowling, two in shooting, and one in handball.

In the fifth edition of the championship, the UAE score was 32 medals, which included 12 golds.

The UAE team is also gearing up to compete in four games: running, shot put, disc throw and javelin throw for the next three days.

Kuwait is hosting the 11-game event for three days till 29th October.

Meanwhile, the rich haul of medals reaffirms the status of the UAE as a leader in women’s sports in the GCC.

It is the result of long term planing under the wise leadership of our leaders, who have always supported the eves sports.

The seeds of the women sports in the UAE were sown back in  1997, when the first women’s tournament was held.

From its origin in 1997 as a women’s sports tournament comprising of teams solely from the six-member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to its gradual evolution and expansion in 2012 into a tournament encompassing world-class sportswomen and athletes from across the pan Arab region, the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) has grown in size and stature and is today, a true indicator of the progress of women’s sports nationally, regionally and around the Arab world.

Hosted by Sharjah Women’s Sports (SWS) and held biennially under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of SWS, the phenomenal growth of this tournament over the years exemplifies its commitment to providing a platform for women athletes to thrive and realise their aspirations, and reaffirms Sharjah’s role in nurturing and advancing women’s sports in the Arab world.

By furthering the cause of women’s sports in the region and beyond, AWST has grown to become an international competition platform, enabling high-calibre Emirati sportswomen to compete with their Arab counterparts, and together, they present a true image of the region’s sporting spirit to the world.

Featuring just five games in its 2012 debut, the enthusiasm and dedication of the Emirati and Arab players prompted SWS to increase the tournament’s games to seven in the 2014 edition. One game was added in the 2016 edition and in 2018, with the addition of yet another the number of competition disciplines rose to nine. Last year, sportswomen from 16 Arab countries and 67 clubs competed professionally in basketball, volleyball, table tennis, archery, fencing, equestrian jumping, karate, shooting, and finally, athletics.

The upcoming 2020 edition scheduled to be held in Sharjah from February 2 is poised to be the largest yet in terms of regional participation.

Supported by statistics By hosting the Arab Women Sports Tournament, SWS has been helping raise the profile of women’s sports in the Arab world through its commitment to the highest standards of inclusivity and participation. Recent statistics released by a report developed by the Performance and Development Committee operating under the AWST Supreme Organising Committee (department responsible for responsible for the technical, operational, logistical and other executional processes of AWST) reveal that the overall satisfaction level with the tournament rose to 83.1 percent in the 2018 edition compared to 81.1 per cent in 2014.