Doha: Qatar’s women shooters Al Dana Al Mubarak and Dana Suleman clinched the top two places respectively in the 25m Pistol event at the 11th Arab Shooting Championship at the Losail Shooting Range here yesterday.
Al Mubarak won gold and Suleman claimed silver, Al Mubarak went on to complete a double by guiding the hosts to team’s gold medal in the same category. Oman and Kuwait teams won silver and bronze.
The other members of the victorious Qatar team were Nasra Mahmoud and Souad Al Khater.
In the individual event, Al Mubarak scored seven points, two more than compatriot Suleman to finish first. Oman’s Wadha Al Balushi claimed the bronze defeating Kuwait’s Awatef Al Qallaf by four points. “It was a difficult competition, but I am happy with our performance in the championship and hope we will continue our winning touch in the forthcoming events,” Al Mubarak said.
Commenting over her team’s victory she said: “It is a very important victory for the team as we were pitted against some of the very good shooters of the region. I think the victory will be confidence booster for the girls.”
Earlier in the day, Al Mubarak and Suleman qualified for the gold medal match by scoring 10 and eight points, respectively. Oman’s Al Balushi and Al Qallaf qualified for the bronze medal match with eight and six points in the semi-finals.
In the men’ section, Qatar’s Ali Al Muhannadi claimed the 50m Rifle 3 Positions bronze with a total score of 429.7 points.
Oman’s Said Hamed Al Khatri scored 449.8 points to win the gold, while Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Al Anazi secured silver with 441.5.
“It is a great feeling to win gold at the Arab championship. I am delighted to emerge champion among some great shooters of Arab world. I am thankful to my coach. The medal was result of his efforts during our team’s preparations tournament,” Al Khatri said.
Qatar’s Ahmed Al Ali and Mohamed Al Mubarak claimed the silver and bronze in 50m Rifle Positions Men’s junior section, respectively.
Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Adel won gold.THE PENINSULA
