There was a distinctly multinational feel to the cast list on the eighth and ninth days of the Fazza Championship for Falconry Telwah as GCC-based falconers joined their Emirati counterparts in the race against the clock.
Organised and supervised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), participants from across the Arabian Gulf competed against each other in four sub-categories – ‘Hurr Wahsh Farkh’, ‘Hurr Wahsh Jernaas’, ‘Shaheen Wahsh Farkh’ and ‘Shaheen Wahsh Jernaas’.
Competing alongside Sheikhs and the local populace in the Al Ruwayyah area of Dubai, there were a high number of GCC falconers in attendance, with 750 entrants over the course of the two days.
And it was the Qatari falconers who were among the major winners in the GCC competition.
Sheeban Khalifa Ali Al Dabet Al Dosari finished both second and third in the ‘Shaheen Wahsh Jernaas’ contest, while compatriot Khalifa Mubarak Khalifa Mohammed Al Asiry went one better in the ‘Shaheen Wahsh Farkh’ category as he scured first place overall.
“This is the second consecutive year that I’ve participated in this event,” said Al Asiry. “I didn’t win in 2015, but I did manage to do so this time around and there is no secret to it; it was just God’s will that I won.”
Al Dosari added: “The Fazza Championship is well known back in Qatar; everybody knows about this event. I participated in 2015, but I had two falcons this year and they came second and third.
“I would like to thank HHC for organising this championship. Every year, it simply gets better and better than the previous edition.”
The performances of Al Asiry and Al Dosari came hot on the heels of Qatari outfit SSTM’s success in the Hurr Wahsh Jernaas tournament on Saturday.
SSTM’s Talal Fahad Al Nuaimi stated: “The competition here is very competitive. All of the competitors are at the same high level because everybody at this event is experienced in falcon racing. The UAE is definitely the strongest GCC nation when it comes to falcon racing and Qatar is in second place.”
The Qataris’ displays left the tournament organisers suitably impressed.
“One of our core main objectives is to not only increase the participation numbers and popularity of heritage sports in the UAE, but across the GCC and the Arab world as a whole.
“It is therefore really encouraging to see such a high number of Emirati and GCC entries in the ‘Hurr Wahsh Farkh’ and the ‘Hurr Wahsh Jernaas’ categories of the Fazza Championship for Falconry Telwah,” said director of championships Souad Ibrahim Darwish.
“There is no doubt that running the two competitions in such a way helps to improve standards overall and we hope our GCC competitors continue their participation in this event in the future.”
The finals of the Fazza Championship for Falconry Telwah will take place on Tuesday.
