Milan Gajdobranksi proud to restart paddling career with UAE

A flight steward will represent UAE in international kayaking competition for the first time on Wednesday, 12 years after ending his paddling career with his homeland to move to Dubai.

Milan Gajdobranksi was part of the Serbia national team before he moved to the UAE, where he works as a member of cabin crew for Emirates Airline.

He will return to the international paddling arena when he competes at the International Canoe Federation World Championship in Duisburg, Germany.

As the lone UAE competitor at the event, he was the flag bearer at Tuesday’s opening ceremony.

His long absence from major events means he has modest expectations for the competition. He is set to compete in heats over 200 metres and 500m on Wednesday.

“I am looking forward to passing the qualification groups and I would be happy to reach the B finals in this competition,” Gajdobranksi said.

Having UAE participation in major international paddling events is still novel.

Dubai-based schoolboy Balasz Bartfai became the first UAE representative at an international canoeing competition last September when he raced at the junior World Championships in Hungary.

The sport is growing in the country, with the Emirates Canoe and Rafting Federation hoping to send paddlers to the Olympic Games in the future.

Mike Ballard, the American-born kayaker, also trains with the UAE team in Dubai as he targets participation in the Paris Paralympics next year.

Hungarian Olympian Krisztian Bartfai, centre, has high hopes for paddling in the UAE. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Krisztian Bartfai, three-time Olympian with Hungary who is overseeing the development of the sport in Dubai, says anything Gajdobranksi can achieve in Duisburg will be a bonus.

“Because he is just back