Equestrian Rider Omar Al Marzouqi and cyclist Safia Al Sayegh carried the UAE's flag during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, on the River Seine.
Al Marzouqi won the silver medal in individual showjumping at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018. In Hangzhou, Al Marzooqi helped the UAE claim team bronze at the Asian Games and won a silver medal in the individual competition.
The 21-year-old Al Marzouqi told the Emirates News Agency (WAM), ‘’This historic moment represents a great motive for the Emirati athletes to deliver the best results in the competitions in order to raise the flag again on the Olympic podiums.’’
Al Marzouqi said of the team’s preparations to participate in the scheduled competitions: “There were many gradual stages of preparation in Germany, Britain, and Italy.”
The UAE’s national equestrian team will compete with 20 other teams in the show jumping competition starting in early August. The individual competitions, which will be held on August 5 and 6, will include 75 riders.
Coventry City ended their 25-year absence from the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers, securing promotion from the Championship with three games to spare on Friday.
Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Madrid Open for the second consecutive year after withdrawing on Friday with a wrist injury, dealing another blow to the world number two's clay court preparations ahead of his French Open title defence.
Novak Djokovic is still working through the injury problems that forced him to miss recent tournaments in Miami and Monte Carlo and said on Friday that he will not feature at next week's Madrid Open, one of the last stops before the French Open.
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has defended Jasprit Bumrah after the struggling pace spearhead went a fifth Indian Premier League match without a wicket in Thursday's seven-wicket defeat by Punjab Kings.
Iranian women's football players Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh thanked the Australian government on Friday for offering a "safe haven" and said they wished to resume their sporting careers after rebuilding their lives.
Dubai Police, in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Interior, have arrested an Irish fugitive accused of involvement in an organised criminal group linked to international crimes in his home country.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has met with His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, to discuss national priorities and the country’s continued development.