By Abdellatif Sharaa, KUNA

KUWAIT: The Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC) has re-elected Kuwait’s candidate Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah as President for the next four years. The confederation is committed to encourage talents and provide opportunities for Asian athletes, for regional and international achievements in shooting, said Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah in a speech at the ASC meeting held in Kuwait on Saturday, with the presence of representatives of 41 Asian federations.

ASC organizes training courses and camps for coaches, staff and referees to boost their skills in the sport, while providing technical and logistic support to national federations when organizing Asian or international tournaments, he said. Shooting had a rising popularity in the past few years in Asia, as Asian teams increased their qualification cards in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 from 38 to 48, winning 14 medals, said the ASC President.

Shooter Abdallah Al-Rashidi of Kuwait is awarded a certificate of merits.

The head of Kuwait Shooting Federation Duaij Al-Otaibi noted that during the meeting, ASC agreed on the upcoming tournaments schedule. The start will be by the premier continental tournament in South Korea, next October, followed by the Asian Shotgun and Rifle/Pistol Championships 2024, to be held in Kuwait next January, followed by another in Indonesia in February, said Al-Otaibi, who was also chosen as ASC Secretary General.

Sheikh Salman thanked the delegations for their confidence in him and promised to continue the hard work to keep the Asian Shooting Sport in prominence. He said the confederation is committed to encourage talents and make opportunities for ambitious athletes in Asia to be distinguished at the continental and international levels. He added that the confederation will work on instilling a solid foundation technically and administratively, as well as strengthening the culture of fair play, for a brighter future for the Asian shooting sport.

He said the Asian Shooting Sport witnessed a significant rise in its popularity, and the Asian confederations have succeeded in increasing the number of qualifiers to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics from 38 to 48 and won 14 various medals. Eng Duaij Al-Otaibi on behalf of the attendees thanked Public Authority for Sport (PAS) in Kuwait, for supporting the sport of shooting and hosting ASC in Kuwait. The Assembly elected five vice presidents and eight executive committee members. The administrative and financial reports were approved by assembly members.