Ali Mohamed Al Kuwari (centre), President of Qatar Shooting and Archery Association, addressing the media during a press conference held at the Losail Shooting Range, yesterday. Picture: Syed Omar
Over 1,500 shooters from 36 federations will be seen in action in the 14th Asian Shooting Championship which kicks off today with the opening ceremony at the Losail Shooting Range.
The 10-day event, organised by Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSSA), will be held in the men’s and women category, besides the junior categories for boys and girls.
Thirty-eight Olympic quota places will be up for grabs during the continental tournament for the Asian shooters for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The championships will be the last Olympic qualification event for the Tokyo 2022. The top three finishers in each of the shotgun, rifle and pistol events of the tournament will gain quota spots or outright qualification for the event.
Shooters from 10 Asian countries have already clinched 69 quotas for the Tokyo Games from different shooting events and 38 more shooters will be joining the Tokyo Games list after the Qatar event.
China (25), Japan (12) as host nation, Republic of Korea (12), India (9), Chinese Taipei (3) Iran (2), Kuwait (2), Mongolia (2), Pakistan (1) and Thailand (1) are some of the countries which have managed to clinch places for the Tokyo Games.
Ali Mohamed Al Kuwari, President of QSSA, said all the arrangements to host the event are complete and most of the shooters have arrived and ready for the championship.
“We won the bid to host the championship in 2012 and since then we have been working in hosting the event. We have upgraded the ranges for the championship in terms of equipment,” Al Kuwari said, while speaking at a press conference on the eve of the championship.
The hosts are fielding 135 athletes in the championship including some young shooters in junior events in both the boys and girls section, which the QSSA President said will serve as a good exposure for the upcoming athletes.
“The event will be a perfect event for the young and inexperienced shooters to compete against Asia’s best and be ready for international competitions and the challenges which lay ahead of them.”
The championship will see the likes of the 2012 London Olympic Games bronze medallist Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, who is aiming to qualify for the Olympics for a record seventh time, competing in the event.
“He (Nasser) qualifying for a record seventh time for the Olympic Games will be a great thing for us. If he does, he will break a few records for the most number of Olympic Games participation. He is working very hard and clinch the quota place for the Tokyo Games. He is a great athlete and hopefully he will achieve it,” said Al Kuwari.
Meanwhile the QSSA President, who has been elected as Vice-President of the Asian Shooting Confederation at the General Assembly in Kuwait on Saturday, yesterday launched the website of the association, which is in English and Arabic.
