Dubai: UAE national team coach Chris Vallendar has promised it will be business as usual for his team despite the loss of his best player Ahmad Al Musharrakh.
The 21-year-old became the first Emirati to turn professional last month, ruling him out of all subsequent UAE national team fixtures as they compete as amateurs.
His departure has thrown the UAE’s preparations for this weekend’s Eisenhower Trophy in Turkey into chaos.
The UAE also have the Asian Amateurs in Thailand from November 1-4 and the Pan Arab Championships in Bahrain from November 24-30 coming up.
The UAE were looking for a strong build-up to win the Pan Arabs in order to secure a historic treble following last season’s Arab Games and GCC Championship double.
“With every respect to Ahmad Al Musharrakh, I’m confident there is life after him and there has to be,” said Vallendar, who has drafted Suhail Al Marzouqi in to play alongside Khalid Yousuf and Abdullah Al Musharrakh.
“You’ll miss any player of that calibre. He added to the spirit of the team. But we will carry on and keep pushing forward.
“Top 30 is still on the cards at the Eisenhower Trophy and, the way the guys are playing, it’s certainly possible. They are relaxed, have a lot of confidence in their chips and putts and have been improving well.
“Al Marzouqi has been playing some awesome golf recently and he will team up with Abdullah Al Musharrakh at the Asian Amateurs. Meanwhile, Khalid Yousuf has the enthusiasm to hold the team together during this transition.”
Vallendar said: “We’ve yet to decide who the fourth man will be in the Pan Arab squad, we’ll probably decide via qualifiers. But, as far as our treble chances go, we can’t say anything. We are still confident that we’ll be especially hard to beat.”
