The UAE advanced to the quarterfinals of the Esports competition at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday after securing a 3-0 victory over Palestine.
UAE Advances in Fighting Games
The UAE first faced Japan and suffered a 3-0 defeat before responding with a convincing 3-0 win against Palestine in the fighting games events.
The competition featured Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8 and The King of Fighters XV.
The UAE team will now compete in the quarterfinals on Friday. Abdullah Mohammed Saif Bouhnad Al Muhairi, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Banna and Sultan Rashid Mohammed Marshoul Taheri will represent the country.
UAE Swimmer Competes in 200m Freestyle
In the swimming competition, a UAE athlete recorded a time of 2:06.29 in the men’s 200m freestyle as the country continued its participation across multiple sports.
Cyclist Mohammed Al Mutaiwei secured 13th place in the men’s road race, which featured 40 cyclists representing 16 countries.
The UAE also featured in the shooting events. Abdullah Al Hammadi and Abdullah Jassim were among the country’s shooters competing at the Games.
However, Saif bin Futtais Mohammed Ahmed did not advance to the final of the men’s individual skeet event.
In football, the UAE national team played out a 0-0 draw against China in its final Group B match.
The result ended the UAE’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the football competition.
UAE Targets Strong Asian Games Performance
The UAE won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the 2022 Asian Games. The country is aiming for another strong showing in Japan, with 165 athletes competing across 21 sports.
Minister of Sports, Vice President of the UAE Olympic Committee and Chairman of its Executive Office Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi expressed confidence in the UAE delegation and praised the work of the Olympic Committee, sports federations, and technical and administrative teams in preparing the athletes.
He also wished the participating athletes success in achieving results that would raise the UAE flag at the continental sporting event.