The UAE Swimming Federation have sacked Russian head coach Sergey Burkov after disappointing results from Emirati swimmers at the Arab Age Group Championship and the Dubai International Aquatic Championship.
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According to the federation’s executive director Ayman Saad, Burkov, who took over the national squad a little over a year ago, was relieved of his duties on Saturday after several swimmers failed to deliver results and medals that were expected of them.
The UAE won three medals in the Arab Championship, two silver and one bronze via Ahmed Aidaros (won two in the 12-13 age group) and Ali Al Kaabi.
“We were disappointed by our swimmers’ results and we have sacked the head coach,” Saad told Sport360°. “We gave him a big chance and we feel he had lost interest in his job.
“Sport in the UAE requires a lot of work and constant following up with the swimmers and we felt that he wasn’t doing that anymore.
“We were aiming for 10 medals in the Arab Championship not three. Ali Al Kaabi should’ve got gold in the 50m fly but he didn’t swim the time we expected of him.
“Mubarak Salem should’ve won two medals in the DIAC and we expected two more from Yaaqoub. Al Saadi. Basically no one swam their timings.”
Saad says they will be looking into hiring a Hungarian coach but they are yet to decide on a specific name. The federation has a signed agreement with the Hungarian Swimming Federation which includes their national team holding training camps in Dubai as we as a transfer of knowledge and experience between both countries.
Meanwhile, Saad revealed that a new discipline will be added to the DIAC next year in the form of diving. The ongoing DIAC is in its fifth edition and currently includes pool swimming, open water and water polo.
“We’ve been holding this championship for five years now and we’re developing it each year. We’re creating a swimming legacy in Dubai and we’re attracting more and more numbers,” he said.
“We are making a plan to bring in a big sponsor. We created a team dedicated to that. We’re looking into ways of perhaps offering something for free like hospitality or free flights so we can guarantee bigger and stronger teams can take part. But we need a sponsor for that.”
This edition of the DIAC, which was held in conjunction with the Arab Championship, was described by Egypt’s national team head coach Sherif Habib as weaker than any of its previous versions. He claimed the Arab Championship is what saved it and that on its own, it lacked strength in terms of participants.
“I don’t agree at all,” responded Saad. “If we look at the numbers, the 2011 edition and this one are the strongest we’ve had. All the Arab swimmers were here, the Hungarians came, there was an Indian club that came and one of their swimmers qualified to Worlds through the DIAC.
“I agree that it would have been much weaker without the Arab Championship, but it is no coincidence that we held both competitions together at the same time. That was done on purpose.”
