Having lifted her personal best of 95kg in the snatch, Mahassen Hala Fattouh, Lebanon’s first internationally competitive female weightlifter, needed a successful clean and jerk to take a step towards Tokyo.
Hala’s coach had managed to buy her some time. Despite failing the first two lifts of 116kg, he requested an extra kilogram be added to the bar just to give her some breathing space before having to go again.
“At that point, I had to make it or I was out,” she recalls.
As she had done so many times, she got into her setup, finding her grip, straightened her back, and looked forward.
It was a good lift. Relieved, Hala smiled as she dropped the bar, stepped back, and gave a wave to the applauding crowd. Her work was done.
“It was so intense, but so much fun once it was over,” Hala told The National.
That was March 2020, and Hala had just successfully competed in the fifth out of six different meets she needed to be in with a shot of going to the Olympics in the summer. Her final qualifying competition was just one month away.
However, within days of the competition in Cuba, the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and just over two weeks later on March 24, the Tokyo Games were postponed.
Like the many thousands of athletes, Hala was left with unanswered questions. All qualifying competitions were cancelled as international travel became prohibited.
Months went by and qualifying criteria was revised and updated, as organisers tried to keep up with the changing circumstances and travel regulations. Meanwhile Hala kept up with her training, setting up a makeshift gym in her garage, where she could send video updates of her progress to her coach.
It wasn’t until May 2021 shortly after the (postponed) 2020 Asian Championship that Hala found out that she had done enough to earn her place in Tokyo.
“I was actually sitting on the floor in my room folding laundry,” Hala recalls.
It was only when her husband read through the latest article released by the IWF with new criteria, he realised that she had met the qualifying standards for her 76kg weight category.
Now with the Games just days away, Hala is excited to be on the big stage. Although being in the limelight is not something that has come naturally to her. As a teenager growing up in Florida, she wasn’t particularly sporty or competitive.
“I was always terrified of being in front of people, and having them looking at me."
It was when she discovered weightlifting at the age of 15, that started to slowly change.
“Initially I just did it for fun, I never really expected anything out of it, I just enjoyed it.”
Success in weightlifting is progressive and gradual, building more strength and honing technique. She was fortunate enough to be at a school which had a renowned weightlifting programme, surrounded by a supportive peer group.
"During a time when people were body-conscious, our goal was to be strong and celebrate that strength," she remembers.
After competing in school and in university, Hala took a short break from the sport to focus on her studies. It was when she was looking to get in shape for her wedding that she took it up again, and once more surprised herself with her strength.
“I was getting stronger than I was before. I thought, ‘let’s see where we can take this'.”
It wasn’t long before Hala started looking at bigger competitions and at international meets. After some research, she realised that despite an enthusiasm for strength sports in Lebanon, the country had never produced an internationally competing female in weightlifting.
Seizing the opportunity, Hala made history when she competed in the 2014 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“It was an opportunity both to do something positive for Lebanon and be proud of my accomplishments.
“I realised I deserved it; I knew then I was good enough to compete at these events.”
She never looked back. Hala went on to compete in numerous regional, continental and world championships, and in 2017 she partnered with world renowned weightlifting coach Ray Jones.
In 2018 she won the first ever international medal for Lebanon in women’s weightlifting, a silver at the Mediterranean games. In 2019, she became the first female Arab Champion for Lebanon at the Arab Championship held in Amman, Jordan.
Looking ahead to the Games, Hala has been tapering down to rest and recover - ensuring that she will be at her peak when she grips the bar on August 1. Hala will be the only representative from the Middle East lifting in the women’s 76kg weight category.
She hopes her participation will set a positive example for Lebanese women. Having spent some of her childhood in Lebanon, she knows that she had a privilege not afforded to many, and looks forward to finding ways to nurture talent in her native home.
“When that time comes, it would be great to set up some camps, and bring in some kids to get involved and figure out a way that if they like the sport, will enable them to keep doing it. To make it so that they too can compete.”
In the meantime, Hala remains focussed on the goal at hand. “It is so hard to put into words, I have been working towards [the Olympics] for so long, that the fact that it is here, it doesn't always seem real. But it’s very exciting and overwhelming in a good way.”
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Belong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Askew%20and%20Matthew%20Gaziano%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243.5%20million%20from%20crowd%20funding%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
