The UAE will host the first ever World Cup shotgun championship finals with the support of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF), the sport's international governing body.
The event will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.
Competition will be held in various categories for men and women shooters at the Jebel Ali Shooting Club from November 19-25, the organisers announced at a press conference yesterday.
Sultan Saqr Al Suwaidi, General Secretary of the General Authority of Youth & Sports Welfare, Dr Jasem Mohammad Bel Rumaitha, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Saeed Al Naboudah, Head of Marketing Committee, Dubai Calibre 2005, chaired the event.
Munich-based ISSF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole supervising body of international amateur shooting competitions.
Every four years, the ISSF organises shotgun events in four continents which have Olympic status.
The global shooting event will be attended by leading marksmen from around the world in addition to Asian gold medallist Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and Shaikh Ahmad Mohammad Hasher Al Maktoum, gold medallist at last year's Athens Olympic Games.
Competition will include the trap, double trap and skeet for men and trap and skeet for women. Ace shooters from the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt are expected to take part in the event.
"This shooting championship will not only open the doors for everyone to participate in international sports but it will also encourage people, especially the local youth, to be one of the best shooters in the world," said Shaikh Hamdan in his address read by Al Suwaidi.
