UAE's Mirza comes cruelly close to podium

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  • So close to a podium finish: UAE cyclist Yousif Mirza.

    UAE cyclist Yousif Mirza could not hide his disappointment after missing out once again on a podium finish at the Games.

    Mirza, who placed fourth in the omnium race last Wednesday, just four points behind the bronze medallist, was denied third place yesterday in the road race after officials had to check video replay to judge the photo finish between the Emirati and Hong Kong’s Leung Chun Wing.

    It revealed Leung crossed the finish line just centimetres ahead of Mirza, who was in disbelief over his bad luck.

    "I’m really sad. I lost the bronze by less than a hand’s span. It’s just my luck, I don’t know how that happened," Mirza told Sport360.

    "During the race I was doing so well and in the last 20km, the other cyclists started realising I was gunning for a medal and all the focus started to be directed towards me."

    Mirza and Leung both clocked 4:08:51, but it was the Hong Kong cyclist who completed the podium, joining gold medallist Kyunggu Jang of South Korea and silver medallist, Arvin Moazami Godazri of Iran.

    "I was so stressed and nervous during the moments from the finish line until the result was announced," Mirza added. "182km is not easy and in the end, fourth place is like last place in my opinion. It doesn’t make a difference once you’ve missed the medal.

    "It’s just really tough to deal with the fact that I finished fourth twice, in the omnium and the road race. I really think it’s just bad luck."

    There was also heartbreak for the Emirati showjumpers who were just two time penalties away from replacing Japan as bronze medallists in the team event yesterday.

    Led by Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum and her mare Peanuts de Beaufour, the team that also included Abdulla Al Marri, Mohamed Al Owais and Moftah Al Dhaheri were unable to match the UAE’s runner-up showing from four years ago at the Guangzhou Games.

    Al Owais went clear in the first round, riding Et Is Wie Es Is Kj, and the team went into the second round in sixth place with a total of nine faults.

    In the second round, Sheikha Latifa and Al Owais both went clear, but the latter picked up one time penalty. Al Marri had one fence down while Al Dhaheri had two, bringing the team’s total to 14.

    The Qataris flew to gold with three of their four riders going double-clear, Saudi Arabia took silver with four penalties while Japan edged the UAE into third with 12.

    "The three teams that got the medals deserved them more than us," said Al Marri.

    "It hurts when you’re that close and you know you could have done better. The only thing we needed is one less fault to get a medal. We were so close."

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