Doha: The UAE won a silver medal in the bowling competition when Mahmoud Al Attar and Jamal Ali won second place in the doubles, scoring 2,404 pins in the 12th Arab Games here Monday.
What made their achievement all the more remarkable was that Jamal Ali only joined the team one day before the start of the competition, replacing the more experienced Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi, who suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw from the Games.
"Jamal was our first substitute and has been training with the team in their preparations. He has a date with glory as he helped his country to win their first silver medal in the Games," Ahmad Khamis, the team's manager, told Gulf News Monday.
‘Only a start'
"We dedicate this medal to all the UAE and we promise to win more medals. It is only the start and I am confident that our bowlers have yet more to show and this medal will motivate them in the remaining competitions."
Shaker Ali and Nayef Ogab were expected to be the UAE's top pair in Doha, but they could only score 2,323 pins, leaving them behind Syed Ebrahim and Hussain Al Suwaidi (2,356) as well as Al Attar and Ali. Khamis said of their performance: "They didn't have a good day, but believe me they will come back stronger in the remaining competitions. I am confident of that." Kuwait won the gold medal, scoring 2,509, while Qatar bagged the bronze with 2,389.
The UAE also won a second bronze medal thanks to efforts of Omar Behroozian Al Awadhi and Hamad Abbas Al Janahi in tennis.
They lost their last match in the preliminary round to Kuwait 3-0, with Al Awadhi losing to Abdullah Maqdis 7-6, 6-1 and Al Janahi falling to Mohammad Al Gareeb 6-1, 6-0, while the UAE pair also lost the doubles 6-1 and 6-0, settling for second place in the group. They qualified to face Egypt in the semi-finals, where Al Awadhi lost to Sharif Hussain 6-1, 6-0 and Al Janahi to Mohammad Mahmoud 6-0, 6-2, settling for bronze.
More attention
Salah Al Baramli, the technical director of the UAE Tennis Association, said: "This medal will attract attention to the sport and will increase the emphasis given to tennis. The team played against more experienced players from Egypt and the weather was windy and did not help them to show their true worth."
In volleyball, the UAE ladies' team made a strong start by trouncing Kuwait 3-0 (25-9, 25-4, 25-8) in their opening match Monday.
