Courage, they say, is nothing but grace under pressure. Every champion in the annals of sports has the gift of this endearing trait. It is an essential and gives the air of nobility for those few. Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid has that quality in abundance. She may not be in the league of global champions as yet, but remains the UAE's last hope of a medal at the Beijing Games.
Drawn to face world champion Kyung-Seon Hwang in the opening round of her 67kg taekwondo competition at 6.15am this morning, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, did not flinch, even a little. Sheikha Maitha was calm and confidence personified speaking to reporters in Beijing after the draw ceremony. "I'm very happy that I will face the best in the world. I'll give my best," said the 28-year-old royal.
Her poise may seem a bit misplaced to a few, but it is a reflection of the hard work that Sheikha Maitha has put in over the past few months. She had camps with the Moroccan and Egyptian national teams, trained at one of China's most famous schools for taekwondo and worked out with Luo Wei, the 67kg gold medal winner at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 72kg world champion in 2007. Sheikha Maitha even went to the home of taekwondo, spending 10 days in South Korea before returning to Beijing to carry the national flag at the opening ceremony.
Her confidence has rubbed off on her entourage of Ziad Hammad, Samir Jumaa and Moena Jadeed, who pointed out the irrelevance of the draws, citing the upsets galore in the other weight categories of the competition. "Maitha is ready," Jadeed said. "It will be a tough match, but I'm sure she will do well." Sheikha Maitha learned martial arts, including karate and kickboxing, from her father at an early age. She was a karate silver medallist at the 2006 Doha Asian games, but dreamed of competing in the Olympics in taekwondo, a sport which requires more concentration and hard work than karate.
"I started martial arts as a hobby, but now it has become my true dream," said Sheikha Maitha. "It's difficult at times, but I am proud and happy to contribute to my country through sports." Should she beat the South Korean Hwang, the 2005 and 2007 world champion and the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, it will be a triumph of Sheikha Maitha's unyielding spirit and a massive boost for the sport in general.
It is not often that you will find a princess embrace the barefoot art of taekwondo. To see how Sheikha Maitha fared in her opening bout visit www.thenational.ae/olympics arizvi@thenational.ae