Crowning of winners take place in festive atmosphere after over 1,000 shooters competed for honours

DUBAI, 17th March 2017:  The Fazza Championships for Shooting Saktoun for Locals organized and supervised by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre concluded on Thursday at the Dubai Police Shooting Square in Ruwayyah area, with over 1,000 participants competing in five categories to win handsome cash prizes allocated to the first three positions.

The crowning of the winners of the tournament after several days of intense competition took place amid a festive atmosphere in the presence of HE Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmook, CEO of HHC; Brigadier General Mohammed Obaid Al Muhairi, Head of the tournament organizing committee; and other senior officials of HHC.

The duo of Rashed Al Kaabi and Saeed Al Kaabi clinched first place in the 'Plates' team event. Saeed Al Dahmani and Mohammed Al Dahmani were placed second while Saif Saeed Al Kaabi and Ali Saeed Al Kaabi took third position.

Hassan Al Qayedi emerged champion in the Men's Open category. Mohammed Saleh Al Menhali was runner-up while Salem Al Nuaimi took third place.
Afra Salem Al Badi triumphed in the Women's Open category with top score of 77 which included a couple of bulls-eye hits. Sarya Al Darei (74) took second place while Fakhira Abdullah Al Darei (72) grabbed third position.

Mohammed Sultan Al Ketbi won the Junior Men's category. Hussein Al Ahbabi took second position while Saeed Al Ketbi was placed third.
Rodha Al Darei won the Junior Women's category. Thorfa Al Qayedi took second position while Vanu Al Ketbi took third position.

Professional manner
Ms. Suad Ibrahim Darwish, Director of Championships at HHC, expressed her appreciation for the professional manner in which the organizing conducted the tournament, specifically their decision to postpone the finals by 24 hours because of the weather which ensured the finale was worked off under clear skies leading to a high level of competition.

'We look forward eagerly to maintain this traditional sport of Al Saktoun by providing the latest technology and facilities when organizing this tournament to encourage Locals from all ages both men and women to participate. For instance we open the shooting range for the participants days before the tournament for training so they can be well prepared for the event, which is why we are seeing record scores and the emergence of a new generation of champions,' she said.

Brigadier General Mohammed Obaid Al Muhairi, Head of the Championship organizing Committee, said the success of this tournament where the participants were more than double the number expected gives them an added responsibility when conducting the next edition of the tournament and do justice to the shooters who are preserving this ancient heritage sport of Saktoun.

Second time
For Junior Men's champion Mohammed Sultan Al Ketbi from Al Ain, it was his second triumph in the Fazza Championship for Shooting Saktoun for Locals.
'I achieved my goal to win first position having trained for a long time before the tournament under the supervision of a personal trainer. I always try to develop my skills and hope to become a professional shooter when I grow old,' said Sultan who began handling Saktoun rifles since the age of 10 following a family tradition and competed in tournaments from the age of 14.