Beijing, 2008. At the Olympics, 204 nations took part in a Games breaking 40 world and 130 Olympic records. It was in Beijing that the UAE also marked a sporting first.
At the opening ceremony, 28-year-old Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid led the UAE Olympic team into Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium – the first woman athlete from an Arabian Gulf country to carry a national flag.
A martial arts champion, Sheikha Maitha entered the taekwondo competition having won the +60 kilogram karate silver medal at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006.
The UAE did not win any medals at the 29th Olympiad, but by forming a part of the national team, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, became part of a tradition that has repeatedly seen members of her family participate in the Games.
In 2004, the UAE struck Olympic Gold for the first time, with Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum’s victory in the men’s double trap shooting competition in Athens.
On Friday, another Maktoum will enter the Olympic arena when Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum shoots for the ultimate prize in the men’s skeet contest, in his fifth consecutive Olympic Games.
* Nick Leech
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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