Dubai, 25 July 2016 — Prince Rahim’s presence at some of Day 2’s matches added to the intensity felt by athletes playing at the Jubilee Games. He watched several contests, including the women’s volleyball match between Canada and Tajikistan, which Tajikistan won 25-21, 25-17.

“The support from the spectators always boosts our confidence and the cheering kept us going,” said Tajik captain Farida Jorubova.

One of Canada’s loudest supporters throughout the match was 12 year-old Canadian Qayl Maherali. “Even though Tajikistan won both sets, Canada also played well,” he said.

Another highlight of Day 2 was the men’s football match between Pakistan and the United Kingdom. After losing their first match 1-0 to Canada, Pakistan felt they had a lot to prove.

They didn’t go about it the easy way — the UK scored first and carried a 1-0 lead into halftime. To make the situation worse, Pakistan took a red card early in the second half, putting them down a man as they attempted to come back.

Still, Pakistan managed to put the pressure on, no doubt encouraged by their country’s fans whose passion and spirit has been one of the talking points of the Jubilee Games so far. They scored four goals in the second half and won 4-2.

“The UK was a tough team as they had defeated all of their opponents [so far],” said Pakistan’s captain Ejaz Ahmed. “We had our chances and we took them well.”

Men’s badminton provided a standout match as Canada’s Azim Kanani took on Tanzania’s Ayzaz Jasani. Jasani lost the first set 16-21 but forced a third with a 21-19 second set. In the third, Tanzania’s Jasani prevailed 21-19.