UAE bowlers on a winning streak

The UAE bowlers continued their tremendous run at the 14th Asian Games in Busan by adding an unprecedented third medal to their tally.

The bowlers, who have contributed solely to their country's medal tally so far picked up a bronze, in the Five Players Teams event held yesterday at the Homeplus Asiad Bowling Alley.

Earlier, they had picked up two silvers in the singles and trios in what can only be perceived as a sensational run.

The UAE bowling team comprising of Mohammed Al Qubeissi, Sultan Al Marzouqi, Naif Oqab, Shaker Ali and Hulaiman Al Hamly finished third in the Five Players Teams event, which concluded last afternoon.

The bowlers garnered 6,138 points sharing third place with Thailand, who notched up an identical score.

The gold went to Japan with 6,389 points, while the silver was won by Korea with 6,273 points. Commenting on the UAE's stupendous showing, Faraj Al Marri, the UAE team manager, said that winning the bronze was like a miracle.

"The bowlers exhibited tremendous effort in the last games. We were far from winning the bronze and I felt that their chances were slim. But the players doubled their efforts. Shaker and his colleagues were very lucky to achieve success and added the third medal to our tally."

The five UAE bowlers scored the 6,138 points in six games.

The scoring was as follows: Mohammed Al Qubeissi 1,297 point, Sultan Al Marzouqi 1,264, Naif Oqab 1,226, Shaker Ali 1,221 and Hulaiman Al Hamly 1,130 point.

Ibrahim Abdul Malik, secretary general, UAE national Olympic committee (NOC GS) attended the medal ceremony held at the Homeplus Asiad Bowling Alley.

Abdul Malik said, "We are happy with the UAE bowlers achieving this great success. We are proud of what they have done. However, our ambition is to achieve more success in the other sports. We have to plan for more medals, in a proper way, at the 15th Asiad 2006 in Qatar."