Doha: The UAE cycling team won the bronze medal in the 142km road race in the 12th Arab Games yesterday to become the first team from Asia to nick a cycling medal from North African cyclists.
Algeria won the gold in the team event in 9 hours 37 minutes 19 seconds, followed by silver winners Morocco in 9:38.16. The UAE registered the same time as Morocco thanks to Khalid Ali (3:12.22), Yousuf Mirza Al Hammadi (3:12.22) and Badr Al Beloushi (3:13.32) but had to settle for the bronze.
"It is a big achievement for the UAE cycling team bearing in mind the vast differences in experience and facilities between us and the teams from North Africa." the UAE's Fahd Al Shehi told Gulf News after the race.
Strong will
"This medal was achieved just by the determination and strong will of our players and the successful tactics they applied in the race. In this respect I would like to praise the efforts of the administrative staff and the technical staff, headed by Algerian coach Nasruddin.
"The team's tactic was to stay together with the leading pack because the result of the best three competitors of each team is counted. So despite the fact that a cyclist form Morocco, followed by two from Algeria, finished in the leading places, our cyclists took the fourth and fifth to beat the other competitors for the bronze."
The UAE shooting trap team finished fourth in their competition at Lusail Shooting Range.
