The daughter of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Dubai, opens up about her "big sister” role in the U.A.E..
If you ever needed the motivation to just try something new — whatever your age and skill level — take inspiration from Sheikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Sheikha Maitha, daughter of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Dubai, is sitting with tabloid! by the side of a polo field on a cool Dubai evening, having just led her U.A.E. women's polo team to victory — twice in one afternoon — at the Ralph Lauren International Ladies Tournament. The thing is, the 34-year-old only started playing polo three years ago.
"I know!” she says with a laugh. "It's not the right way to do things — you usually do it when you're young.” It's her have-a-go attitude that comes across more than anything, although if you ask her if that's her life philosophy, she'll agree — then tell you she's actually "lazy”.
So what should the rest of us know about taking a shot at something new, challenging, different? Stick with it, says Sheikha Maitha — and take inspiration from others.
"Once I commit, I do commit, I don't quit, I try to see it out. I like working hard, I like earning the little credits that I get here and there. Also I am surrounded by people who are really high achievers and competitive. By nature I am quite lazy, so to have that group of people around me, it spurs me on.”
This late-blooming success is not exactly unprecedented in the life of the daughter of Dubai's ruling family. She took up karate at 20, winning medals at the Asian Games, and became the first woman to represent the U.A.E. at the Olympic Games where she competed in the 67kg taekwondo event in Beijing in 2008.
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"I got into these sports because of riding injuries,” she says of martial arts, "and I had to do something else. It's funny because I started off in riding, used martial arts to rehab, continued in martial arts, got injured in martial arts, then used riding to rehab. It's just come full circle. You just keep going.”
She's still in her pink team polo shirt, designed by Ralph Lauren for the tournament (now in its second year), having minutes before dismounted her polo pony and gathered her team together for a few photos. They will play in the finals today.
Nearby, the U.A.E. team — Argentina's Marianela Castagnola and US polo legend Sunny Hale — congratulate each other, and as we talk, a pitbull with a hot pink collar joins us. "He's not mine,” she says. "But he owns me. He thinks he owns all of us.” Her own pet is also present — a seemingly well-behaved goat that was given to her by a cousin. "She's there. We keep apologising to people, she's there, she's our first experience. She's very famous.”
If you're wondering about the daily life of a member of Dubai's ruling family, Shaikha Maitha has a chuckle, and two words for you: Sports rehab.
"Honestly, it's just basically rehabing old injuries, trying to keep up with this lifestyle,” she says when I prod for some insight into a typical day. "I am still adamant that I have a gold medal in me so I am trying to achieve that, that keeps me going.”
Source: Gulf News