[Dubai, UAE – September 1, 2026]: Two team members of Dubai-founded quantitative trading company Eqvilent have been selected to represent the UAE at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Together they bring one of the Games’ newest sports and the UAE’s growing presence in international dressage.
UAE national padel player Fatma Abbas Janahi will compete as padel debuts in the Asian Games programme as an official medal sport. Janahi is among the first four Emirati women selected to represent the UAE in padel at the Games.
Her Eqvilent colleague, Mohamed Al Serkal, has been selected for the UAE dressage team with Zen Liquidity. He returned to the Asian Games after representing the country at Hangzhou 2023, where the UAE fielded its first dressage team at the competition.
The two selections represent very different chapters in the development of sport in the UAE. Padel has moved rapidly from a popular recreational game across the Gulf to an organised international discipline with national teams, professional competition and now Asian Games medals.
For Janahi, Aichi-Nagoya marks another step in a sporting career that began long before padel’s rise in the region. She represented the UAE in tennis from age 8 to 18 before switching to padel in 2021. Earlier this year, she competed in Saudi Arabia’s Al Theeb League in Riyadh, where her team finished first.
“Being selected for the UAE team is already something I am incredibly proud of, but competing in the first Asian Games to include padel makes it even more special. I have spent most of my life in competitive sport and it is exciting to see how quickly this sport is developing. We now have an opportunity to be part of its history and to show that UAE women can compete at this level from the very beginning,” said Fatma Abbas Janahi.
Al Serkal’s selection follows a 2026 season focused on Asian Games qualification. In February, he won the CDI1 Small Tour at CDI Abu Dhabi, becoming overall champion of the division and adding another qualifying result towards the Games.
Eqvilent has supported Al Serkal’s competitive development, including the acquisition of Zen Liquidity, an 11-year-old stallion registered with the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands. Al Serkal trains at Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club and combines international competition with his role at Eqvilent.
“Representing the UAE at the Asian Games in 2023 was a milestone for dressage in the country, so having the opportunity to return is very meaningful. The level of preparation required happens over months and years. Having an environment that gives me the flexibility and support to train and compete has made a real difference to that process,” said Mohamed Al Serkal.
“Both Fatma and Mohamed were working towards these goals long before Asian Games selection was certain. Elite sport requires years of preparation and meaningful support has to come before the result. Seeing two members of our team now selected to represent the UAE is a strong example of what can happen when talented people have room to pursue ambitions beyond their job titles”, said Stanislav Semenov, Founder and CEO of Eqvilent.
Their selection comes as the UAE continues to strengthen pathways for athletes competing internationally under the country’s wider sports development agenda, including the National Sports Strategy 2031. The strategy places greater emphasis on developing national talent and increasing Emirati representation in international competition.
The 20th Asian Games will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October 2026, bringing together athletes from across Asia.