Special Olympics World Games: UAE women's basketball teams earn 2 gold medals

Hosts UAE on Saturday added two more gold medals to its tally as the unified female basketball team (division 1) and traditional female team (division 3) both overcame their opponents on the second day of Special Olympics World Games 2019 here.

In front of a large crowd at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), the unified female division 1 team beat Pakistan 23-7, whilst the traditional division 3 team beat Egypt 13-11.

The final whistle sparked frenzied celebrations from fans and player, Sherifa Saeed Al Yaqoubi, who was on the winning side against Egypt, could not hide her delight.

"This is an amazing victory for us. We have all been preparing hard for the World Games and our training has paid off with this result. We are absolutely thrilled to win as it was a difficult game where Egypt did not give up until the end," the 22-year-old Sherifa said.

She added: "Every single person in the squad is determined to give their best and this result will give us a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament. We will keep working hard to get more wins and make the UAE proud."

UAE coach, Lobna Haji, had nothing but praise for each and every member of her team.

"Basketball is a team sport where we train together and win together. I congratulate everyone on my team for their efforts as they had to play really well against Egypt," Haji said.

"We face France in our next match and we aspire to achieve outstanding performances throughout the tournament. The team members have a high sporting spirit, and we are delighted to be here and represent the UAE in front of our home fans on the global stage," she added.

Over 7,000 athletes from more than 170 countries are participating in the Special Olympics World Games 2019 which began on March 14 and is slated to end on March 21.