Exclusive- Sheikha Maitha: Inspiring women to excel

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  • Pioneering women’s polo: Sheikha Maitha at the Desert Palm in Dubai yesterday.

    Last year, when Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum put together a ladies-only polo tournament for the first time ever in the Middle East, she knew she was breaking new ground for women’s sport in the UAE. In a sport typically dominated by men here in the region, Sheikha Maitha sent a message loud and clear: that not only can women play polo, but they can play it well.

    As the Ralph Lauren International Ladies Polo Tournament returned for a second edi­tion this past weekend, she wanted to bring a stronger field and showcase female polo in its fiercest form.

    “Last year was an experiment and it was a dream for us to have an all-women’s tourna­ment here in the UAE,” Sheikha Maitha told Sport360° on the sidelines of the tournament at the Desert Palm.

    “This year we came into it having really high expectations. The team, the organisers not only met it but exceeded expectation and that’s very hard to do, especially in a country where we pride ourselves on wanting to be No1. So the quality of players this year is amazing. We’ve had players I’ve never met before. The level of women’s sport… this is making history and I’m so honoured just to be part of it.”

    A new introduction to the tournament this year was an All-Star game that pit the very best from all three teams present against one another. The result was the highest-ever rat­ed ladies polo match with each All-Star team combining to a total of a 27-goal handicap.

    “It’s never happened before in history, it’s the first time to have a 27-goal for women. To happen here in Dubai, and have a charity attached to it as well – it’s a win-win for eve­ryone,” said Sheikha Maitha.

    “For the sport it means a lot, for the social aspect of it – it couldn’t be more perfect.” Over the 11 months that have passed between the first and second editions of the tourna­ment, Sheikha Maitha has noticed a consid­erable increase in interest in polo from ladies in the UAE asking her how they could get involved with the sport.

    “There was a huge, huge outpour. A lot of people wanted to play. We are at full capacity (at the club) really but yesterday I played in the Pink Polo and there was another local girl (Eliazia Al Muhairi), so she’s the first really after myself and it’s nice to see all the clubs pushing and supporting local talent,” she says.

    “She’s fully supported by Ghantoot Polo, they’re pushing for her to play and she had a very good start. She did really well in her first match and that’s what we want to see. We want to see more amateurs to just try, don’t be afraid, just go ahead and do it. You have to start somewhere.”

    For Sheikha Maitha, the start came a couple of years ago when she joined Ali Al Bawardi’s Desert Palm Polo Club. It was Al Bawardi who suggested she buy a polo pony and soon after, she was taking part in the Queen’s Cup and Gold Cup with his team.

    Her rapid progress in the sport has impressed many, and it seems her long his­tory of competing in martial arts gave her the courage and drive to fully engage on the field and not shy away from rough contact.

    Her right arm was covered in kinesio-tape yesterday, indicating an injury, but when asked whether she was hurt or not she said with a laugh: “Everyone’s hurt, it’s part and the nature of the sport.”

    It is that kind of toughness that drove the top two players in the world, Nina Clarkin and Sunny Hale, to raise their hats to Sheikha Maitha’s talent.

    “This is the first time I’ve met her personally. I’ve seen her play a lot in England in the high-goal and I really admire the way she plays, she’s a fantastic player and a real pioneer for the sport,” said Clarkin, who was making her tournament debut.

    Hale added: “I think she’s playing really solid polo. She’s a very good competitor and she understands the game really well and has really good field vision. She comes with a really quiet mind, I think that comes from her martial arts background, that none of it fazes her so I think that makes such a great attribute to come as a polo player with that already. Her skill level is really good.”

    From her side, Sheikha Maitha admits she can sense an improvement in her level over the past year.

    She said: “I think I’ve matured a little bit. I started to understand the game more as a player. I had a very nice season here, and played with my peers. They helped me a lot. The patrons from the other teams, they’re more experienced and of course each compe­tition, on different fields, it’s a little bit differ­ent. They’re more specialised and it was an eye-opener. This year we are more prepared and just basically learning from our mistakes as we go along.”

    As Clarkin mentioned, Sheikha Maitha has not gone unnoticed playing high-goal polo in the UK and it is an experience the Emirati has come to thoroughly enjoy. But she says she actually prefers playing at home where the level may be lower but where she is forced to dig deeper.

    “I love it (in the UK) because you play with the best players in the world and to be part of that… it’s a lot smoother so the higher the level, the players can control what happens in the match more,” she explains.

    “But having said that, more medium goal – what we play here – you have to carry your weight. So you’re asked to do more; you have to be more involved. You can’t just rely on your pros. So I think from an athlete’s side, I do prefer being involved more and do­ing more of the dirty work. I feel that’s part of what attracts me to the sport. It is full contact, it is rough, but it’s also a team sport and to feel that team chemistry, you can’t compare it to anything.”

    Asked about what she hopes to achieve in the sport, Sheikha Maitha says without hesi­tation: “Like any athlete, (my goal is) the top. The top in this sport is the Open and every polo player’s dream is to play in the Open, that’s just a natural thing.” And is she close to that goal? “No, I’m very, very far but that hasn’t stopped me before,” she signs off. 

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