Doha: Ali Ahmad Al Eshaq upstaged seasoned campaigner Masoud Hamad Al Adba in a shoot-out to pick up his first major career win in the Skeet event of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association Cup.
Yesterday at the Losail Shooting range, Ali, who is studying law at the Qatar University, kept his cool in the gold medal shoot-out to emerge victorious 17-16 over Masoud.
Veteran Masoud, double gold medal winner at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and who has been consistently winning medals in local event was in good form in the qualification rounds but could not maintain the same form in the final round.
Masoud shot down 122 targets, the highest among the 15 contestants, while Ali who had a score of 118 in the qualification round bounce back to hit the eagle eye when it mattered the most.
Ali owed part of his success to luck and hard work.
“I was not in good form in the qualification rounds, while Masoud was in great form. But in the medal matches luck was on my side and everything clicked for me and as the scores from the qualification rounds are not carried forward, so I kept my cool and shot down targets with ease when it mattered,” said Ali who has been shooting in local events for the last nine years.
Shooting as a sport for Ali is a stress buster.
“When I am too much engrossed in studies and want to ease the tension I go to the shooting range to practice my sport,” said Ali, who is looking forward to the tournament in January next year in India.
“I am preparing for the tournament in India which will be held in January. The tournament has quota places up for grabs for the Rio de Janiero Games and we hope to pick some of them. The competition will be tough, but we hope for the best,” Ali said.
Masoud while complimenting Ali for making the smooth transition from a junior to a senior abnd finally a gold medal winner said Qatar has a lot of talent.
“We have a lot of talented youngsters in Qatar who have the ability to make it big. There is a need to practice on a regular basis and be dedicated to the game,” Masoud said, who is also looking forward to the India challenge as part of the Qatar team.
Masould was hopeful that a few of the Qatari shooters bag their Olympic quotas in India.
Qatar coach Victor Karasov said he is preparing the Qatari shooters for the January event which is one of the events where shooters can book a place for 2016 Rio Games
Meanwhile in the junior section, Muhammad Al Kuwari took the top honours followed by Mubarak Ahmad Al Kuwari, while Sultan Al Mansuri took the bronze. In the women’s section, Hanan Ali Haji, Amal Ahamad Al Rafee and Sarah Gulam Mohammed finished on the podium in the senior category, while in the junior section, Reem Al Sharshani, Hajar Gulam Mohammed and Amina Al Mansuri bagged the three medals.
The Peninsula
