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| Rashid al-Athba |
Qatari shooter Rashid al-Athba yesterday missed qualification for the final round of the men’s trap competition after impressive last two sessions at the Royal Artillery Barracks (RAB).
Al-Athba, 31, yesterday finished with a tally of 121 out of 125 shots, to end his campaign in 10th spot. Yesterday, al-Athba fired two more rounds of 25 shots each, missing just two. However, yesterday’s qualifying rounds belonged to Australia’s Michael Diamond who created a world record, maintaining a clean sheet in his five rounds for an overall qualifying tally of 125.
Fehaid Aldeehani of Kuwait also impressed yesterday, finishing with 124 from his five rounds. Jesus Serrano (123) of Spain was the third best shooter in the two-day qualifying rounds at RAB. Italy’s Massimo Fabbrizi (123) and Croatians Anton Glasnovic and Giovanni Cernogoraz (122 each) grabbed the last three spots to complete the group of six who qualified for the final round.
On Sunday, al-Athba fired rounds of 24, 25 and 24. The Qatari last week failed to qualify for the final round of the men’s double trap competition. Al-Athba, who was trying to become the second shooter to win a medal after compatriot Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah’s heroics last Tuesday, did battle with 34 shooters yesterday.
A dejected al-Athba said: “I am sad that I couldn’t make it to the final round. I almost made it. There was a lot of pressure. I feel I was unlucky not to have made it. I tried my best. I had a good score.”
He added: “Taking part in the Olympic Games has taught me a lot. It has shown me how tough shooting is at the international level. I am happy about the fact that I will take this experience with me at future events. My confidence is high. I hope I can do well in future events.”
Al-Athba thanked the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association for ‘their support’. “I am also grateful to the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) for their invaluable support over the years,” he added. Ali Al Kuwari, Qatar shooting official in London, said: “I think he did a good job. Overall he missed the finals by just one point. He almost made it to the finals. We hope he can replicate this form at future championships. We are very hopeful after this show.”
After reaching the final round, Croatia’s Glasnovic said: “I was surprised by my own performance today. It feels amazing.” On his brother and his coach Josip who was a finalist in men’s trap at Beijing 2008, Glasnovic said: “Well, he shared some of his experiences which helped me. I was his coach in Beijing. We keep switching roles.” On his injury earlier this year (he was told he was haemophilic after a dental surgery), the Croatian added: “I was very disappointed. I thought I will have to leave shooting due to it. It was the other side of my jaw that was affected so it didn’t really affect my preparation.”
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games gold medallist David Kostelecky of the Czech Republic said: “I started badly yesterday and had two zeros. I changed my style and that was OK. I started shooting a little faster. I was faster on the swing - I am shooting earlier. Everybody is looking for the final, but it is a very tough competition. It is not easy shooting with the best. You are always learning something.”