Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum shoots UAE to gold

Sport360 staff 21:50 09/11/2016
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  • The final podium.

    The 40-year-old, competing in his first tournament since the Rio Olympics, put on a fine show in front of his home crowd at Al Forsan International Sports Resort against a strong five-man field to register a top-score of 16.

    That result was matched by Kuwait’s Saud Habib meaning the pair fought in an intriguing shoot-off battle. Both were on top of their game but Sheikh Saeed kept his cool when it really mattered, missing just once to finish with 15, two clear of Habib.

    After his final attempt, the Emirati celebrated with his fans but although he got through a tough encounter, he still felt he could have done better.

    “I got into some trouble in the first qualifying round but I managed to recover,” he said. “I could have done better this but this is what I’ve done today and it has got me to the top.

    “All of these guys, who were in the final are quality. Mairaj Ahmad Khan is one of the best shooters in the world and Saud Habib is also good so it feels good to have come out on top in this.

    “But I would have rather scored a better score than this but it feels good to finish in first place.”

    Third-placed Mairaj Ahmad Khan was left to rue his miss on the final attempt which would have saw him qualify for the shoot-off but the Indian was pleased to have added to his medal collection.

    “If I had not missed the target on my final attempt, I would’ve been in the final. But this is sport, you win and you lose some,” said the three-time Asian Games champion.

    With eight Emiratis entered in five categories, it meant the UAE finished with two medals after Saif Al Shamsi took silver in the Double Trap on Sunday.

    Rabee Al Awadi, vice-president of the UAE Shooting Federation, was impressed with how the Emiratis fared and declared the overall season as a success.

    “Sheikh Saeed’s result means it was good ending to the season and along with Al Shamsi getting silver medal in the Double Trap, we are within our expectations of our plans for 2017 and it’s a good end to this year,” he said.

    “Sheikh Seed’s win came after some hard work. He only came to the shooting range on the day of the contest but he was very focused on winning.”

    The UAE shooters will be next in action at the ISSF World Cup in Delhi, India in February and Al Awadi insists preparations for that tournament will begin soon.

    “The World Cup is three months away but the shooters will now rest for some weeks before beginning their preparations to do well in India,” he said.

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