Dubai
Shabbir Ahmad of Pakistan has vouched to go one better than last year as he lines up a golden finish in the Recurve archery competition for the disabled at the Fourth Nad Al Sheba Ramadan Sports Tournament.
A bronze medallist after defeating the UAE’s Habib Abdul Majid 6-4 last year when the archery competition was added for the first time last year, Ahmad is keen to have a gold medal hanging around his neck this time.
On Monday, Ahmad took his first step towards a potential gold medal when he first blanked his last year’s bronze medal opponent Abdul Majid 6-0, before securing an identical win against Yemen’s Khalid Ahmad to set up a final meeting against the UAE’s Saeed Al Muhairi.
“One year is a long time and I am a much better archer now after another 12 months of practice. The only way forward for me is to target the gold medal that I missed out on last year. But this time I want to make amends and win it for my country,” Ahmad told Gulf News.
“The competition will be tough in the final. In addition, I will have to keep my cool and poise and stay disciplined once I am at the target range. One small distraction and all the hard work can go in vain,” he added.
His fellow countryman Jasim Ramzan will contest in the bronze medal match against Reza Jalal Bahri of Iran.
Meanwhile, the semi-final lineups in the teams’ padel and volleyball competitions were also finalised on Monday.
In the padel, M5 secured the fourth and last spot remaining with a clinical 2-0 win against the Abdullah Al Maktoum team. The M5 team will now meet the SHM team, while in the upper half of the draw Uncle Saeed will take on Valencia in the two semi-finals scheduled to be play next Monday (June 20). The final and third place play-off will be held on June 26.
In the Men’s Open, defending champions Sandy Farquharson and Javier Lopez was the only unbeaten couple from Group A. They have one last match against German Zunica and Javier Molina to be played at 8 pm on June 18.
Group B too had an unbeaten couple in Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios maintaining their winning run with a 6-0, 6-0 blanking of Juan Reyna and Jon Garabieta. The two semi-finals will be played on June 22 and the final will be held on June 25.
In the final Group B volleyball match, Surprise stunned hot favourites MRMR-1, 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12) to be the fourth and final semi-finalist. With UAE footballer Khamis Esmail playing the role of non-playing captain, the Surprise team lived up to its name as they fought with their backs against the wall to dump the defending champions.
Earlier, Zabeel had consigned Al Zaeem to their third defeat in as many group matches with a 3-0 result. Surprise will now take on Fohood Zabeel in the first semi-final, while Zabeel face MRMR-2 in the second.
RESULTS
(Padel) Men’s Open: Sandy Farquharson/Javier Lopez bt Mohammad Ahli/Abdullah Ahli 6-0, 6-0; Emilio Misas/Pedro Rios bt Juan Reyna/Jon Garabieta 6-0, 6-0. (Teams) M5 bt Abdullah Al Maktoum 2-0.
(Archery – Disabled Recurve Open) Shabbir Ahmad bt Habib Abdul Majid 6-0; Khalid Ahmad bt Mohammad Al Zarouni 6-2; Ebrahim Al Hammadi bt Nabeel Abdul Kareem 6-0; Jasim Ramzan bt Ali Al Sa’adi 6-4; Saeed Al Muhairi bt Ebrahim Hashmi 6-0; Younus Adam bt Mohammad Megahed 6-2; Mohammad Vahdani bt Hussain Ebrahim 6-4; Reza Jalal Bahri bt Ansaf Suhail 6-0; Shabbir Ahmad bt Khalid Ahmad 6-0; Jasim Ramzan bt Ebrahim Al Hammadi 7-1; Saeed Al Muhairi bt Younus Adam 6-4; Reza Jalal Bahri bt Mohammad Vahdani 7-1; (Semi-finals) Saeed Al Muhairi bt Reza Jalal Bahri 6-5;Shabbir Ahmad bt Jasim Ramzan 6-2.
(Volleyball) Zabeel bt Al Zaeem 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 28-26); Surprise bt MRMR-1 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12). Semi-finals: Fohood Zabeel vs Surprise; Zabeel vs MRMR-2.
