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World class international swimming returns to Doha today with the start of the FINA Swimming World Cup as South African star Chad le Clos targets success here at the Hamad Aquatic Centre. |
This is the second time Doha is hosting a leg of the prestigious world cup and more than 240 swimmers from 40 countries will hit the pool over the two days of action.
The entry list features some of the biggest names in swimming. Olympic and World champions Chad le Clos from South Africa and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary head the lists, which also includes Osama Mellouli of Tunisia, Yulia Yefimova and Stanislav Donets of Russia, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Inge Dekker of the Netherlands.
The Doha leg is the fifth leg of the eight-leg World Cup series, which commenced in August in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The second, third and fourth rounds were held in Berlin and Moscow and Dubai.
Le Clos, who won the World Cup overall title in 2011, is currently in the lead in the 2013 standings after the four rounds. On the eve of the event chairman of the local organising committee and president of the Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) Khaleel al-Jabir said he was delighted with both the calibre and number of entries received for the event.
During a press conference he said, “Last year, about 160 swimmers from 30 countries had contested. This year, we have got 240 swimmers from 40 countries. We’re really thrilled by the large number of swimmers, who will be contesting here.
“This is very prestigious event for us. We started the preparations for this round about three months before. The efforts have paid off and we’re able to present a big number of Olympic, World and World Cup champions,” al-Jabir said.
The LOC Chairman said the event is a good trial for the upcoming World Short Course Championship (2014) and will inspire the Qatari swimmers to lift their performance levels.
“The FINA competition is a test event for the 2014 World Championships. We’re trying our best to deliver one of the most successful World Championships. The FINA officials are here and they are satisfied with the way we’re progressing about the World Championship.
“The two FINA SWC rounds in Doha have helped the Qatari swimmers prepare themselves well for future. They have trained hard and I’m hopeful that most of them would produce their best results. Our swimmers are mostly 15 years of age and under and we’re building them future. They had done well in the past Arab championships, winning 16 medals,” al-Jabir said.
On the sidelines of the 2014 World Championships, Doha will also host a massive seminar for coaches and swimmers. Ten swimmers from Qatar are taking part in the event.
“We have selected 10 swimmers for the Doha round. All but one are in good shape and raring to go. They have been undergoing rigorous training sessions. Olympian Nada Mohamed Wafa Arkaji unfortunately has suffered an injury and we will decide about her participation after the medical check-up,” QSA Competition Manager Mohamed al-Fadallah said.
Noah al-Khulaifi, Abdulrahman al-Kuwari, Omar al-Hisham, Waleed Dallul, Khalid Waleed, Abdulla Ali Yahri, Ahmed Ghaith, Abdulrahman Issa al-Ishaq and Nasser Yasir are the other swimmers from Qatar.
After Doha, the competition will move on to Singapore and Tokyo with the final event in Beijing on November 13-14.
