Ahmad to defend his title

Beijing: Four years since he made Olympic history by winning a gold medal in the men's Olympic double trap in Athens Shaikh Ahmad Hasher Al Maktoum will on Tuesday begin the defence of his title in the ultra-competitive world of shooting.

Shaikh Ahmad is aware that his rivals will be gunning for his gold and acknowledges that it will be a tough task to repeat his feat of 2004.

But he is a true sportsman and a top-class marksman, qualities which can help his bid to re-write shooting history.

Shaikh Ahmad goes into action at 5am (UAE time) in the qualifying round where marksmen use a shotgun to shoot a clay disk flung from the shooter at high speed.

In the Olympic double trap competitions, the course of fire is 75 doubles for men and 60 doubles for women.

The shooter who hits the most targets earns the highest score.

It also involves a 25-double final for the top six competitors after the round of qualifying.

Shaikh Ahmad will be hoping to be in this group.