She has a scheme to get more women competing across the country so that there will be more medals claimed for the UAE.
SHARJAH // Former table tennis champion Majd Al Bloushi hopes to launch a league tournament this year between female expatriates and Emirati players to get more people excited about the sport.
The 25-year-old architectural engineer at Sharjah’s public works directorate retired from competitive sport two years ago but wants to inspire women to take up table tennis.
“I had some decisions to make a few years ago,” says Al Bloushi.
“Either I continued playing, or I retired, or I could be a decision-maker to develop the sport.”
She chose to develop the sport and is building a database of Emirati players, identifying their strengths and working on weaknesses to give them a fighting chance to win medals for the country.
“There is support for the youth but it should be continuous support,” says the champion, who is chairwoman of the Women’s Sports Development Association and a board member of the UAE Table Tennis and Badminton Association.
“I can help others achieve success and, in the end, the medal we win will be for the UAE.
“The idea is to create a mixed league for Emirati players and [expatriates] of all nationalities to gain experience and compete against each other.
“I want to do something to serve the whole UAE.
“We need more women in sports who are experts so they can talk to the young about challenges they will face before, after and during a match.”
Al Bloushi, UAE champion from 2004 until 2015 and bronze medallist in Gulf-level competitions, aims to put in place regular training camps, championships and overseas travel to competitions.
She started with an evaluation programme she wrote up for Emirati players.
Thirty women were pitted against each other a week before a nationwide contest organised in February for UAE sports day.
The aim of the programme is to improve the accuracy and technique of top players through continuous assessments.
Al Bloushi started table tennis at a young age, when she won a spot on the UAE national team at age 11, securing a gold medal in a 2004 championship after beating women three times her age.
While studying at the University of Sharjah, she shuttled between classes, practising at the Al Shabab Sports Club in Dubai or the Sharjah Ladies Club and returning for lectures.
“Majd has won medals but she is humble and ready to help others,” says Farhana Hakim, a graphic designer with a hearing impairment who took an optional Arabic literature class in university with Al Bloushi.
“She made sure to help me follow what was happening in class when I could not understand what was being taught.
“Her enthusiasm pushes other people to do more.”
Nada Al Naqbi, general manager of the Sharjah Women’s Sport Foundation, describes Al Bloushi as a role model.
“She is proof that you can balance sports and studies,” she says.
“She participated in international and domestic competitions and completed an engineering degree.
“It is not easy to be a board member on the table tennis federation but she proved herself again.”
One of Al Bloushi’s dreams is to build a racquet sports academy and this was part of her final year university project.
Her model includes residences for overseas players and a school for young players, with the ground level dedicated to sports physiotherapy facilities and an upper level for spectators and families to watch the games.
“This is something I wish for, a focus on racquet sports of table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis for women,” she says.
Both the sport and her career have shaped her vision for the future.
“Architecture is like the story of how people live and use a space,” she says.
“It’s not just how a place looks but how a space works in design and functionality.
“And sport gives you leadership, a sense of calm, strength, responsibility and control.
“Both architectural engineering and my sport have helped me define my goals and my vision.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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