LONDON: Kuwait’s national powerboat team won third place in the powerboat world championship organized by Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), held in Plymouth, United Kingdom, across two categories. In B 300 horsepower category, the Kuwaiti team, led by world champion Bader Al-Dousari and his assistant, Mohammed Al-Essayie, secured third place. Khaled Karam and Adel Al-Sharida also achieved third place in the P 150 horsepower category, with their teammates Nasser Al-Khadhra and Mishaal Al-Misbah finishing fifth in the final round of the championship. Head of the Kuwaiti delegation, Ali Al-Shamali expressed his pride in the team’s accomplishments in a statement to KUNA.

He highlighted that the team competed in the category B with the boat “Raheeb 17,” powered by a 300-horsepower engine, piloted by 2023 world champion Bader Al-Dousari and Mohammed Al-Essayie. The team earned two silver medals on the first and second days of the event, ultimately securing third place overall. Al-Shamali explained that the team’s chance of retaining the world champion title was impacted by an accident in the second round of the championship, which took place in Belgium in June.

Despite this setback, the team’s performance in the first round in Spain, where they secured two silver medals in April, helped them accumulate enough points to achieve the bronze overall. In category B single-engine with 150 horsepower, Kuwait’s “Raheeb 171,” led by champions Khaled Karam and Adel Al-Sharida, took second and fourth place in the Spanish round of the competition in April.

They won first place in Belgium, and in the final round in Plymouth, they secured third and fourth places, resulting in an overall third-place finish and the bronze medal. The third boat, competing for the first time, finished fifth overall in category B with 150 horsepower, by Al-Khadhra and Al-Misbah. — KUNA