ShareBy Abdellatif Sharaa, KUNA
KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah Shooting Championship and the Arab shotgun tournament, held on its sidelines, concluded on Friday. The seven-day tournaments involved shooters from 15 Arab states, with Kuwaiti shooters bagging the lion’s share of medals. HH the Crown Prince championship, which was exclusively for Kuwaiti shooters, was held at the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex. The Olympic competitions involving men and women featured the categories of shotgun shooting, skeet, trap, pistol rifle, and archery.
The Kuwaiti shooters bagged 13 medals, including seven gold and six silver. Bahrain ranked second, winning nine medals, including two gold, a silver, and five bronze medals. Qatar ranked third with a single gold, one silver, and three bronze. Farwaniya Governor Sheikh Athbi Nasser Al-Athbi Al-Sabah said after the conclusion of the games that he was honored to hand the trophies to the winners. This championship was marked with broad participation by shooters from Kuwait, Gulf, and Arab states, he said, lauding the orderly organization by the Kuwaiti organizing committee that acted with support by President of Asian Shooting Confederation Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, President of Kuwait and Arab shooting federations.
Meanwhile, Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi expressed gratitude to His Highness the Crown Prince for his gracious support for holding this grand championship. On the final day of the contests, Kuwait’s shooter, Turki Al-Shemmari, won in the 50-meter rifle (3-position men) category. The silver medal was won by Abdullah Al-Harbi, while his fellow citizen Ali Farhan Al-Mutairi came in third with the bronze.
In the Olympic Archery (men), Ali Al-Zaid was crowned the champion; next came Habes Al-Shemmari, who bagged silver, while his Kuwaiti peer Abdullah Al-Fodari settled for bronze. In the same competition for women, Nour Al-Sharhan came first; Reem Al-Naqeeb took second, while Suad Al-Bahr grabbed third position. Archer Abdullah Malallah won the gold medal in the compound archery category, followed by Badr Saleh, as Ahmad Al-Shatti ended in third place.
