The UAE will send 31 athletes to the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, with competition set to run from April 22nd to 30th.
The national team will compete in four sports: ju-jitsu, sailing, beach soccer and open water swimming.
It is the first Asian Beach Games since Da Nang in 2016. The event in Sanya will feature 1,790 athletes from 45 national Olympic committees across Asia, with medals to be decided in 14 sports, 15 disciplines and 61 events.
For the UAE, the campaign starts with beach soccer. They have been drawn in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Iran.
An advance delegation from the UAE Olympic Committee arrived in Sanya last week to complete preparations before the rest of the squad lands in China.
The UAE have a strong record at these Games. Since the first edition in Bali in 2008, they have won 28 medals: 11 gold, eight silver and nine bronze. They have appeared at every edition.
Their best return came in Phuket in 2014, when they claimed 12 medals.
One of the notable moments in the country’s history at the event came two years later in Da Nang, when ju-jitsu athlete Wudayma Al Yafei won bronze. It was the first time an Emirati female athlete had reached the podium at the Asian Beach Games.
Faris Mohammed Al Mutawa, secretary general of the UAE Olympic Committee, said the delegation is aiming to add to that record in Sanya.
He said the athletes had to be ready for another demanding continental event, and backed the team to maintain the standards set by previous UAE squads at the Games.
The tournament also marks China’s second time hosting the Asian Beach Games after Haiyang staged the event in 2012.
The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Ring Theatre in the Asian Beach Games Park in Tianya Haijiao.
The Games began in Bali in 2008, before later editions in Muscat, Haiyang, Phuket and Da Nang. Sanya now hosts the sixth edition, and the UAE will arrive with hopes of adding more medals to a record that has already made this one of their more productive continental events.
