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Two years ago, Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah abandoned the Dakar Rally after his Hummer broke down, jetted to Doha, and shot 75 on 75 to secure his berth at the London Olympics. |
He made it just in the nick of time, flying out of South America to make it to the last qualifying event for the Olympics being held in Qatar. No time for practice, no time to think, just pick up the gun… and bang, bang.
Had he stayed on to complete the rally just for the sake of completing the formalities, he would have missed the qualifier, and al-Attiyah had to make a quick decision even if it meant a tiring journey all the way back, starting from Chile and ending a world away in Doha.
It was a decision that would pay off well for Qatar as al-Attiyah went on to win a bronze in London to secure a place in sporting history for himself as well as for his country.
The life of a jet-setting sportsman could evoke envy, but travelling all the time, living out of suitcases and staying away from family and friends for most of the year could take a heavy toll on even the toughest of the breed.
And then there are the expectations of the fans to deal with. For an athlete who is supremely talented in two grueling and distinct disciplines like shooting and driving, the weight of expectations can sometimes be more taxing than the actual competition.
Yesterday, al-Attiyah was trying to explain his failure to qualify for the men’s skeet finals at the Asian Games in Incheon.
“Yes, it can sometimes happen. This is sport and in sport there is no guarantee that you will succeed all the time,” the Qatari superstar said after finishing 12th in qualifying with a score of 115.
For someone who was busy with his rallying commitments, it was still creditable that he shot 22, 22, 23, 24, 24, missing 10 targets out of 125. It only highlights the magnitude of the competition in which only the top six qualify for the finals, which was later won by Kuwaiti Abdulla al-Rashidi.
Al-Attiyah admitted he hardly had any time to practice shooting as he had been involved in various races week after week, and was last night scheduled to fly all the way to Rabat from Incheon for the Rally of Morocco starting on October 3.
“I admit I was not ready for the Asian Games,” he conceded. However, he denied that his rallying commitments were affecting his performance on the shooting range.
“It’s not like that,” he tried to reason. “I don’t think what you do in one sport has a bearing on what you do in another. It’s just that in sport there are no guarantees,” he emphasized.
His rallying schedule was so tight that there was an element of suspense about whether he would even be able to make it to Incheon, with even the Qatar Shooting Federation doubtful of his participation in the Asian Games.
Last week, he quit the Cyprus Rally because of heating problems with his car and used the gap to fly to Incheon for the Asian Games. But unlike 2012, he couldn’t find his magic touch and crashed out.
So will we see him in action at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016? “I am determined to qualify for the Olympics,” he said. “I plan to take part in several qualifying events for the Olympics next year and secure my berth. I don’t want to leave it late.”
Al-Attiyah knows even he can’t pull off miracles all the time.
