ABU DHABI // The national ice hockey team are the new favourites at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Asian Challenge Cup after Chinese Taipei, the defending champions, opted out of the continental championship to held in Kuwait next week.
Chinese Taipei edged out the UAE 3-2 in the final of last year's event, which they hosted.
Their withdrawal denies the Emirates squad, who won the title in 2009 as hosts, a chance for revenge in the week-long event starting on Sunday. "We don't really know why they are not travelling, but that doesn't make the competition any easier," Ebraheem bu Debs, a national team defender, said. "We are the favourites, but that doesn't guarantee us the championship. We still need to go out there and win every game."
This year's championship will be played in a league format, with the team that finishes with the highest points declared the winner.
Participating with the UAE are Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Macau and Thailand. In addition to Chinese Taipei, other nations not participating in this year's tournament are Malaysia and Mongolia.
The UAE squad is the same that won the bronze medal behind Kyrgyzstan, the hosts, and Thailand in the Asian Winter Games men's premier division in February.
"We had been training ahead of the Asian Winter Games and then continued to play as a team in the Emirates Hockey League, which we won," bu Debs said.
"Basically we have been playing together as a team for more than four years when we were preparing for the Asian Challenge Cup in 2009, which we won. All the national team players represent the Abu Dhabi Storms in the domestic league. So we know each other very well as players.
"We also had a camp in Al Ain which was to get our focus on the competition.
"I feel the team is ready and obviously we want to regain the Asian title. It doesn't matter whom we play, we can only play those who are in the competition."
Matti Fagerstrom, the Storms' coach, has been appointed the national team coach. The 28-year-old Finn, who joined the Abu Dhabi club in July, has been in charge of the national team for two weeks.
"They are a very experienced side, having participated in the Asian Challenge Cup, the World Championship Division Three [tournament in 2010] and the Asian Winter Games," Fagerstrom said.
The UAE became the first Arab nation to play in the IIHF World Championship when they took part in the Division Three tournament at Luxembourg in April last year, finishing the tournament in the bottom team behind Ireland, Luxembourg and Greece.
The UAE won the inaugural Gulf Cup in Kuwait last year and were set to host the 2011 championship that has been postponed to next year following the political unrest in some Gulf countries.
[ apassela@thenational.ae ]
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre+(Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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