Arkaji was confirmed as Qatar's sole female swimmer in London in February 2012. She received a wild card invitation from the IOC to compete at the Olympics after not meeting the "B" (FINA/Invitation) qualifying standard of the women's 50 metres freestyle. Arkaji prepared for the Games by training for two hours per day at the Aspire Zone. She said in an interview with Reuters four months before the Games that she sought to lower her personal best to below 30 seconds and she wanted to encourage women in Qatar to take up sport, "I always try my best in swimming. I always try to get my personal best. So I think that I have all the potential to reach the top." Arkaji took part in the third heat on 3 August, finishing fourth out of eight athletes, with a time of 30.89 seconds. This placed her 58th overall; only the top 16 progressed to the semi-finals. Men Women Table tennis Egyptian-born Aya Majdi was 18 years old at the time of the London Summer Games and was announced as a competitor for Qatar at these Games in June 2012. The IOC issued her a special invitation wild card for the women's table tennis singles tournament. Majdi spoke of her pride over being chosen to represent Qatar in London but vowed to qualify on merit for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She was drawn to compete against Zhang Mo of China in the preliminary round on 28 July. Mo beat Majdi in all four of the best-of-seven game's sets 11–3, 11–7, 11–6 and 11–3 to advance to the first round, ending Majdi's tournament. After the match, she stated that competing the game allowed her to broaden her experience. See also Qatar at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Notes References Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Olympics