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Beijing: On Friday, Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum will hope to realise her dreams of Olympic glory.
Shaikha Maitha will compete in the under 67kg category preliminaries of the taekwondo competition where she faces South Korea's Hwang Kung-Seon, the bronze medallist at the Athens Olympics.
But the daughter of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is unfazed.
"The draw does not really make a difference. I am very happy that I will face the best fighter in the world. I will give my best," Shaika Maitha said after learning that she will take on a fighter who is a favourite to win the gold medal.
Hwang won a gold medal at the Madrid world championships in 2005 and two years later bagged the gold at the World Championships in Beijing. She also won the gold at the Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Shaikha Maitha, who has trained hard for the Olympics, is confident of giving her best.
"I am well prepared and ready," she said recently. "I want to win for my father and my country."
Fully prepared
Shaikha Maith has left no stone unturned in her preparation for the Olympics, training full stretch at camps featuring the Moroccan and Egyptian national teams.
She has even visited leading taekwondo schools in both China and South Korea to further develop her skills and fitness.
Shaikha Maitha was earlier this year voted the Best Female Arab Sportsperson after having secured two gold medals, a silver and three bronze medals at the Pan Arab Games.
At the 2006 Doha Asian Games she won the silver medal in the +60kg karate competition.
Meanwhile, South Korea reasserted its traditional stranglehold over taekwondo yesterday, sweeping both golds in the men's and women's competitions, while America's Lopez family celebrated with a silver and a bronze.
Lim Su-jeong defeated Turkey's Azize Tanrikulu to win gold in the women's 57-kg class, shortly before team-mate Son Tae-jin capped off a perfect day for South Korea by beating Mark Lopez of the US in the men's 68-kg final.
"When I finally got the gold medal I raced over and hugged Lim to rejoice together. We were successful today because we both trusted and supported each other," Son said.
Desperate finalists
Both their successes followed hard-fought bouts against desperate finalists, with last-gasp scores breaking dead-locks and their opponents' hearts.
Twenty-year-old Son sent a probing kick into Lopez's heart in the last 3 seconds to seal victory, while Lim, who celebrated her 22nd birthday yesterday, conjured a spectacular round-house kick to despatch Tanrikulu.
The fighters continued the Asian nation's perfect record of producing medallists, with 10 out of 10 South Koreans clinching a bronze or higher since the martial art was elevated to a full Olympic sport at the Sydney Games.
Lopez, seeking to follow in the footsteps of his double gold medallist brother Steven, was downcast after the title loss.
"Of course, I came here to win a gold medal, but I came up short. I'm going to start training for 2012 and hopefully I'll win my medal there," Mark Lopez said.
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