Nearly 300 shooters to gun for glory at Qatar Open

As many as 297 shooters from 32 countries will participate in the seventh edition of the Qatar Open, which will begin at the Losail Shooting Range today.
The local challenge, with Qatar fielding 49 shooters, will be spearheaded by six-time Olympian Nasser bin Saleh al-Attiyah, also the 2012 London Games bronze medallist.
Russia too will field 49 shooters, while Kazakhstan and Kuwait will field 34 and 32 shooters respectively.
The eight-day tournament, including Trap, Double Trap and Skeet events for senior and junior men and women, has a total prize money of $132,600.
Though the cold and windy weather poses a big challenge, Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSAA) president Ali Mohamed al-Kuwari was optimistic about hosting yet another high quality event, featuring many world and Olympic champion Skeet, Double Trap and Trap shooters.
During a press conference yesterday, al-Kuwari said, “Most of the shooters from Europe liked being in Doha during the event because of the sunny and warm weather. When they come from their countries, they have either too much snow or rain. So the warm weather had been another factor which attracted such a large number of high-profile shooters.
“But this time, the weather has suddenly changed. However, even if it remains the same, it would not be a big problem for the competition. But if we have too much of wind, this can affect the flight of the targets. I just hope there is not much change in the weather now, not only for the local but outside shooters also,” added al-Kuwari.
The QSAA head also added, “We’re all set for the Qatar Open in Shotgun. Many shooters have already arrived and we expect another year of high standard competition here.”
QSAA secretary-general Majid al-Naimi, who is also vice-chairman of the organising committee, expected a good result from the Qatari shooters.
“Recently, our shooters did well in the Arab championships in Kuwait. They won a big number of medals, which underlines the preparations they had undertaken,” al-Naimi said.
“This event will help our shooters fine-tune themselves further as many of them would contest in the World Cup in New Delhi later this month. Our shooters are ready to challenge the big names here and I’m quite hopeful of getting good results this time.”
Tournament director Antonella Bartolomei, while talking about the participants, said, “Over the years, this has become a very popular event for all the shooters. Since it is placed in the beginning of the shooting season, the world’s best like to come and shoot in Losail.
“Just like the previous years, we’ve many world and Olympic champions contesting in the 2017 Qatar Open. Every year, not only those who have already participated here come back, new shooters also join them. This is something we’re really very proud of,” Bartolomei said.
The finals will start with the Women’s Trap tomorrow, one day after the pre-event training. On Thursday, the men’s Trap final will be contested. The men’s Double Trap final is scheduled for Saturday. Women’s Skeet final will take place on February 20, while the men’s final will be held a day later.