Sport Briefs - August 10, 2003

Junior golfer Rami Belaid sizzles at Ford event
Abu Dhabi - Rami Belaid shot an excellent 74 to bag the lowest gross prize at the August Ford Medal held at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club by Sheraton (ADGCS) on Friday. Andrew Schump won first net with an excellent 69 in Division 'A', while Paul Frost took second net with a 75.

The first net in Division 'B' was won by Andy Dolman with a fantastic 67, and Hyung Jung Kim took second net with a 68. Tetsuya Nishiyama returned a net 69 to win in Division 'C' and Okuyama won second net with a 74. The men's longest drive and nearest the pin were both won by junior golfer Belaid.

Tourney to mark IMF meeting
Dubai - The Arab Banking Corporation will be hosting a golf tournament to mark the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings next month. The event has been planned for September 21 at the Emirates Golf Club. Players will first assemble for registration and breakfast and the actual competition will commence with a shotgun start at 8 am.

UAE Olympic team drub Swiss club
Abu Dhabi - The UAE Olympic football team clobbered Vivien FC, Switzerland to win their third friendly match of their external training camp. The UAE are to meet Thailand in the Asian qualifiers for the 2004 Athens Olympics in Dubai on September 10 and in Bangkok a week later. Faisal Ali started the rout, while Faisal Khalil added the second before the breather.

Ismail Matar added the third and Waleed Murad scored a hattrick, including a goal from the spot, to give their technical staff, headed by Briton Roy Hodgson, a reason to be optimistic. In their earlier friendlies, the UAE's drew 1-1 with Sion before trouncing Sierre 7-0. The team will return on August 15 to continue their preparations here.

Al Ain beat Italian Division 4 side
Al Ain - The Al Ain Club team scored a narrow 2-1 wi against a fourth division Italian club during the course of their training camp there. This follows their 6-0 rout of Swiss side, Cron Montana last week in their first friendly. Midfielder Ghareeb Harib opened the scoring, while teammate Bubakar Sanogo made added one of his own for a 2-0 lead at the breather. The hosts secured a consolation five minutes from the end.

Faisal Ali, Rami Yaslam, Ali Masary and Ali Ahmed from the Olympic team have joined the Al Ain camp. Hamad bin Nikhairat Al Amry said that the team is due to leave for China on August 28 to play against Dalian Shide in the AFC Champions League return game on August 30.

Al Qubeissi leads in capital event
Abu Dhabi - Mohammed Khalifa Al Qubeissi led the first week of the Open Bowling Championship, organised by the Higher Committee of Zayed Sports City. The former UAE champion has an average of 229.7 confirming his shift back into top competition in preparation for the Asian Championship to be held in Malaysia next month.

Naif Oqab was second with 224.8 followed by Canadian Mustafa Sulaiman (210.9), Abdul Rahman Salim, Hulaiman Al Hamly, Saeed Al Kathiri, Shaker Ali, Ali Al Kathiri, Salih Fahad and Aref Al Qubeissi.