Doha: Gianfranco Buffa is a man with an objective in the 12th Arab Games. The Canadian who leads the UAE bowling team already boasts the achievement of winning four gold medals in the same tournament four years ago in Cairo, where he led Qatar's bowlers.
"I want to win more medals this time with the UAE team," Buffa said at Dubai International Airport on his way to Doha with the players on Thursday.
"We are well prepared and have a good team. Only yesterday (Wednesday) I returned with Shaker Ali from South Africa, where he competed in the FIQ World Cup and finished 10th from 83 participants who were the best in the world. That is good enough for me to feel optimistic with his chances in the Games.
"The other players are all top class in comparison with most of the competitors, whom I know, and I am really looking forward to winning some medals.
Serious contenders
"I believe our most serious contenders will be from Qatar and Kuwait because they are the best at the moment and also to some extent from Bahrain," Buffa added.
Shaker himself told Gulf News: "I am ready to do my best for my country. I returned home at midnight and the same day we trained for the Games.
"I have great confidence in my colleague (Buffa) and I think they are going to win medals. They have always done that in all competitions whether regional, continental or international."
The bowling teams will take part in official practice today (Saturday) and the competitions will start tomorrow (Sunday).s
