Al-Attiyah promises all out effort in Olympics gold quest

Qatar’s super talented sports icon Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah yesterday joined an elite group of three shooters by equalling the world record of 150 /150 in the Skeet event of the Asian Shooting Championships and also booked his fifth Olympics ticket yesterday. In a candid interview with Gulf Times, al-Attiyah revealed how he went about his business and what his future plans are.Excerpts:From where do you get the energy to compete in two very competitive sports at the highest level?I have always believed in maintaining a very high level of fitness. Be it in motor sports or shooting or in life I have always wanted to be super fit. It’s been over 20 years that I have been in sports and I know my body really well. Then there are a lot of people behind me and they are always banking on me to do well. The Qatar government has always supported me in a big way and these are the things that have got me going. What was your training schedule for the last few days you have been here?Last three days, I was sleeping at around three in the morning as I got used to the timings in Argentina. Every time, before the round I used to run 500 metres to warm up my body and keep the blood circulation level high. I have a lot of experience in shooting and also know how to keep competing hard. I spent 10 days in Dakar and I crossed 7,000km before I flew to Doha. So it’s all a battle and I was ready to fight.  

When did you get the feeling that you could do it?Frankly speaking, I didn’t. In the official training, I didn’t do well. I shot 72 out of 75 but it was still good considering that I had just come down from Dakar. Then I said I will do target by target and it worked. The first qualifying score of 75 was a huge boost and I’m happy to continue the same way today. To get a result in a short time is simply phenomenal.Do you think that your decision to quit the Dakar title defence midway was a blessing in disguise?Yes, very much and you can say that now. How many athletes make it to their fifth Olympics. It’s in itself an achievement. Things weren’t going well as per plan in Dakar. I kept trying and even did make amends after early setbacks but once the car gave away for the third time, I told my co-driver that it was time to pull out. Thereafter, it was all about trying to come down here and take a shot at the Olympics.  

What would be your next goal?I’m keen to erase the memory of losing out in the shootout at the Athens Olympics. I missed out from there by a whisker and it hurts me to date. From now on, it’s a challenge for me to win the Olympic medal. For 20 years, I dreamt of winning the Dakar Rally and I succeeded last year and this time, I will be going after the Olympic medal. I will push myself to any limit with my coach and physio to win that medal. Fifth time, I will be competing and maybe it will be a record as well for an athlete. Any plans lined up for 2012 London Games…We have big plans now. Training camp here in Qatar and training camp in Asia but we have not decided on which country in Asia. Europe now is very cold so we will train in warmer climate. Next week, I will be participating in the rally here in Qatar and then I will flying down to Sweden to take part in the World Rally Championship and join my new team. I will of course have to take a break from shooting for a while to recover completely. If I find some time while rallying, I might shoot for fun as I have done in the past during rallying.  

How do you plan to celebrate your win?It hasn’t sunk in yet that I have won with a world record. So I have not planned on how to celebrate but I’m sure the federation will have lined up something. But I would like to get back to my family first and enjoy with them. They will be thrilled to get the news and would be waiting to see me.