By Sports Reporter/Dubai
Qatar’s leading skydivers turned on the style when they rubbed shoulders with the best in the world at the 2015 Clash of Champions, which concluded in Dubai yesterday.
Representing Qatar at the $200,000 event staged at Inflight Dubai under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai, the Qatar Tigers and the Qatar Falcons both claimed fifth spot in two classes dominated by international star flyers from Belgium and the USA.
In the AAA 4-Way Formation Skydiving category, the Qatar Tigers performed superbly in a class won by the multi championship-winning Belgian team HayaBusa, while the Qatar Falcons also held their own in the AAA 8-Way Formation Skydiving category won by the world record-breaking US Army team the Golden Knights.
For a nation without a skydiving wind tunnel or a drop zone, Qatar’s display was a major result as the nation’s skydivers prepare for the forthcoming World Air Games in Dubai.
“We have done very well. There were many of the best teams in the world in our classes so we’re happy,” said Azziz al-Motawa, who competed in the Qatar Falcons alongside Abdulla al-Hammadi, Saad al-Ali, Salem al-Senaid, Abdulla Salem, Mohammed Shams, Suhail
al-Khowar and Ghanim al-Kubaisi.
“We’ve been competing in 8-Way for only two years so things are going very well. Skydiving is not a popular sport in Qatar but we are a military team so it’s what we do.
“At first we were just having fun but after about a year we were locked into the sport and loving it.
“It’s good to know which level we are at. Every team here wants to be on the podium but only a few can make it.”
For the Qatar Tigers team of Yousuf al-Jahani, Hamad al-Marri, Fahad al-Shamary and Abdulaziz al-Shammari fifth place was also a superb result in the 20-team AAA 4-Way Formation Skydiving won by Belgian super team HayaBusa who will be one of the favourites when the World Championships are held in Chicago in 2016.
Qatar Falcons in action during the Clash of Champion in Dubai.
