Arch beats Bonhomme in thrilling Abu Dhabi season-opener Championship attracts record entry of 15 pilots

Hannes Arch, of Austria, came from behind to win the first Red Bull Air Race World Championship race of the year in Abu Dhabi last weekend with a scintillating triumph over Britain's Paul Bonhomme on a sizzling hot day in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Nicolas Ivanoff, of France, stormed onto the podium with third place while Britain's Nigel Lamb established himself as a force to be reckoned with, taking fourth.Australia's Matt Hall, one of four rookies in the championship this year, had an outstanding performance in his very first race, grabbing a sensational fifth place on the challenging 6.6-km course of air gates set up just above the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf. Arch, the defending world champion, saved his best for last, blazing to victory to the delight of the large crowd of spectators watching from the rim of the Corniche with a stunning time of 1:24.60 - a full 0.89 seconds faster than Bonhomme's effort just moments earlier. Arch had stumbled in the Super 8 session and only just qualified for the Final 4 in fourth place. Arch, who also collected one championship point with his victory in Friday's qualifying session, then opened up his throttle in the final to pick up the 12 points. He will take a three-point lead over Bonhomme (10 points) to the next race in San Diego. Arch had struggled in the training sessions before pulling out the stops to win Qualifying on Friday. He was again trailing Bonhomme, Ivanoff and Lamb on the time sheets in the penultimate round, the Super 8, before he let loose and pulled off a flawless run through the obstacle course of 20-metre high inflatable pylons set up as 17 air gates on barges. The 15 pilots in the largest field ever assembled in the history of the race fly the single-propeller planes weighing 540 kg with tremendous precision, reaching speeds of up to 370 kilometres per hour and enduring forces of up to 12G as they navigate through the turn-filled courses just metres above the surface.
Last year, more than 3.5 million fans around the world attended the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, which were watched by a total of some 500 million television viewers in 115 countries on six continents.

The UAE will host the second GCC Women’s Games next year, which organisers hope will catapult the Gulf region’s women to become competitive athletes at home and abroad. The Games were held for the first time last year in Kuwait, the country chairing the GCC Women’s Sports Organising Committee, the body that organises the event.

Top Woman Athlete Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum At 27, Sheikha Maitha is the karate princess. She has achieved international recognition for representing the UAE at international karate and taekwondo competitions; she won a silver medal in the 2006 Asian games.

Female athletes will be able to compete in seven disciplines, such as taekwondo, archery, shooting and basketball.
The event is expected to occur in March 2010. A finalised programme and the exact location and time will be announced after upcoming meetings of the GCC Women’s Sports Organising Committee. Sheikha Naima al Sabah, President of the GCC Women’s Sports Organising Committee, has said “adding sport to the agenda of Gulf countries is instrumental in the social development of women in the region”. Added to which budding athletes in the UAE are to be the given paid time off work to train and compete under a new law, it was reported in April.
The law was decreed by Khalifa bin Zayed, the president of the UAE sometime ago, but has only just been revealed recently, and it aims to boost Emirati sporting prowess on the international stage. The decree states: “The minister, or his delegate, may grant the UAE citizen employee an exceptional sabbatical leave with full pay, in fulfilment of any preparatory activity towards participation in national teams, competitions, sports, socio-cultural programmes, or any such reasons relating directly to the work of the employee’s ministry; this upon request of the official authorities concerned and for the period they determine.” The move will greatly benefit all athletes in the country, most of which are not professional and have to hold down full-time jobs.

'Ideal Neutral Venue' for One-Day and Twenty:20 Tournaments

The UAE is becoming the global centre for international cricket, as its state-of-the-art venues prepare to host two of the most successful sides in the game. Cricket fans will be able to see the lighting quick bowling of Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar as well as the powerful batting of Andrew Symonds and Shahid Afridi as Pakistan host Australia in a one-day International Series and one-off Twenty:20 match. And as the sides prepare for the showdown, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is moving in to its new headquarters at Dubai Sports City, further enhancing the UAE's position in the game. The two sides compete in five one-day internationals and a Twenty:20 match at Dubai Sports City's Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The first match of the Series will mark the opening game at Dubai Sports City's Cricket Stadium, on Wednesday, 22 April 2009. "The international cricket community will be watching this series very closely, with many other governing bodies preparing to bring its sides to the UAE," said U. Balasubramanium, CEO, Dubai Sports City. "Officials from both Pakistan and Australia have been very happy in the build-up to this wonderful Series, and we are expecting an enthralling battle between these two great nations." Both sides have announced their squads for the Chapal Cup, with leading international stars Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Shoaib Akhtar, Younus Khan, Umar Gul and Shoaib Malik all included. Tickets are now available through the Sind Punjab restaurant in Dubai, Pak Ghazi restaurant in Dubai and Sharjah, Uttam Restaurant in Sharjah, A.J. Sports in Dubai and Sharjah, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City and all UAE branches of Karachi Darbar. You can also get tickets from the following outlets in Abu Dhabi: all Ibrahimi restaurants, Murree Sweets, Pak Nemat Kada, Pak Land Food Stuff, United Bank, Al Mansoor Video, Ahmed Al Arab restaurant, and Malex Exchange. Tickets for the Series are still sale through www.boxofficeme.com (+971) 4 367 6699 and www.timeoutdubai.com, 800 4669.

Prices range from just AED 50 up to AED 950 for the most exclusive seats. Corporate hospitality packages are also available from Dubai Sports City on (+971) 4 425 1111 and Abu Dhabi Cricket Board on 02 558 8331.

Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa – Al Aqah Beach hosted the Emirati “Al Ahli” football team who are currently at the top of the Emeriti Football league. “Al Ahli” team enjoyed the resorts facilities for team building and preparation for their triumphant match against Al Khaleej on the following day.
“Hosting a winning team like “Al Ahli” is a great honour and I hope that they enjoyed the Rotana hospitality and that their stay at Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa was memorable”, commented Mrad El Khoury, General Manager.