Dubai: UAE golf is on the up according to Ahmad Al Musharrakh, who is now urging his teammates to believe in the ‘very real' prospect of 2016 Olympic Games qualification.
Based upon unprecedented success at the recent GCC Championships and Arab Games where the UAE won team and individual golds for the first time in their history, the UAE National Olympic Committee has now been granted the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) membership. It comes just a fortnight after the team won a Shaikh Khalifa Award for Sporting Excellence.
The membership, endorsed by the committee's General Assembly and recently hosted by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, would in theory allow the UAE to qualify for all forthcoming Asian and Olympic Games.
Al Musharrakh, 21, said this would widen the scope of exposure and in turn raise performance levels to an international standard giving younger emerging players something to aim toward.
"It's great that we are finally recognised. It puts us on the map and promises to give our players a greater level of exposure. I think it's the best thing that's happened to UAE golf for as far back as I can remember," said Al Musharrakh.
‘Definitely ready'
Asked if the UAE could actually mount a successful qualification campaign to Rio 2016, the first Games to re-incorporate golf as an Olympic sport for more than a century, Al Musharrakh said: "Why not? They say 2020 is a more realistic target but this is definitely our best ever phase together as a national team. We are all playing well and should go forward with confidence. We've done well, earned recognition and now we want to go forward. We shouldn't write ourselves off, we are definitely ready for such challenges."
Al Musharrakh who recorded the best ever finish for an emirati in the Asian Amateurs (24th out of 120) last September, and helped the UAE finish their highest in the Nomura Cup (14th out of 18) last August, added: "We have the Turkish Amateur in May and the Eisenhower Trophy in October and we are looking to put in as good a finish in the worldwide standings at these two events as possible.
Regional treble
"Then we have the Arab Championships in September where we're looking to complete the regional treble after wins in the Arab Games and GCC Championships. To win this would make us the undisputed champions of Arab golf.
"There's been a lot of negative information about us. People have said we've had a lot of advantages in life but have failed to live up to, and honour our privileges as players. But now I think we are living up to expectation and its time for the country to start supporting us and have faith in our confidence and ability. We are definitely good enough it's just a matter of creating the right passion.
"It's just a matter of getting the practice right and preparing well. We want to be as sharp as we can for these competitions. Against all those other players we want to prove our worth," said Al Musharrakh.
