Last weekend proved to be an exciting one as women kayakers got into a nail-biting kayaking match at the first Women Kayak Challenge that took place at Crystal Lagoon in Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City – District One.

The first event of its kind for women in Dubai, the match saw Serbia’s Milena Mitic bagged the first prize in the individual category whereas in the doubles category it was the Romanian Emirati duo of Emanuela Costea and Afra Al Nuaimi took the team title.

In the individual category, Mitic clocked 12 minutes and 31 seconds for the 1.5km race, finishing ahead of UAE’s Josie Seidel (12:40), while Australia’s Emma Gallagher (14:09) took home the bronze.

 
In the team category, the pair of Costea and Al Nuaimi took the flag in 14:33 to finish ahead of Reem’s Team –Reem Al Meqbaali, Layla Ahmed and Happyiness –Hoda Khezaimi, Haifa Omar Al Ameri.

“It was my first time to compete in Kayak,” shared the elated Costea, adding, “It was amazing. I love this District One area. The lagoon is so beautiful. I enjoyed it so much. I had Afra with me and it was amazing.”

Like Costea, the event saw many first-timers take part in the kayaking contest. Over 40 female participants took part in the Women’s Kayak Challenge, which was organised by 9714 Sports in collaboration with Dubai Sports Council.

The women-only event boosted the confidence of female sports enthusiasts of the region. The Dubai Sports Council, too, has been organising several women-only community sports events this year that involves many different sports.

In the coming weeks, participants will have plenty of events to choose from just like the Yoga and Meditation Day that was conducted for the ladies at Zabeel Ladies Club on June 21, to mark International Day of Yoga.

Similarly, there will be two Padel Tennis Tournament for ladies – the first from June 22 to 25 at Padel Point (Al Quoz 3), and the second at Al Nasr club from June 24 to 26. There will also be a two-day Women’s Summer Volleyball Tournament taking place at Jam’s Academy in Oud Metha on June 25 and 26.