DOHA -Top shooters from around the world will once again descend at the Lusail Shooting Complex in Qatar to vie for the top honours in the ten-day (March 4-13) exciting ISSF World Cup Shotgun Doha 2023.
The championship, organized by the Qatar Shooting & Archery Association (QSAA) under the auspices of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has attracted 466 shooters from 63 nations.
The ISSF World Cup Shotgun Doha 2023 is second of a series of 12 tournaments being held in 11 countries.
Announcing the event at a press conference on Thursday, Deputy General Manager of the Championship Jassim Shaheen Al Sulaiti said that QSAA and the Lusail Shooting Complex is all set to host the high-profile tournament. “Lusail shooting range is ready to host this World Cup. We have been preparing for it for the last three months. We hosted the Qatar Open a few weeks ago as preparation and to see how ready we are for this competition. And we hope that we can deliver a good competition and make everyone proud,” he said.
Al Saulaiti added: “ISSF World Cup Shotgun Doha 2023 is one of 12 tournaments which take place around the world. The finals will take place in December. Gold medalists from each World Cup during the season will play in the final. This World Cup doesn’t serve as a qualification round for the Olympic Games, but it help players get their ratings up so they can win the qualification to the Olympics by number of points,” Al Sulaiti said.
Also present on the occasion were Abdullah Ali Al Hammadi, Chairman of the Technical Committee,and Hamad Yousef Al Obaidly, Chairman of the Media Committee.
Hosts Qatar, who will have five shooters in each of the skeet and trap categories for men and women, are aiming for for a number of podium finishes, said Al Sulaiti. Qatar’s Olympian Rashid Al Athba and female shooter Reem Al Sharshani are among the top draws.
“The expectation of Qatari shooters at home and outside home is always, always to be on the podium. Especially, we have Reem Al Sharshani who just won a silver medal at the recent Asian Championships. One of our shooters, Al Athba has already qualified for the Olympics and has also won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Croatia few months ago. We have another shooter who got fourth in the World Championship. We are always on the podium or close to the podium, so when it’s at home here, we always hope to get the best result possible,” stressed Al Sulaiti.
“Qatari shooters are actually having a very heavy schedule since the last month. They played in five competitions. So they are getting ready for the Asian Games which will be hosted by Qatar and for the Olympics in Paris next year. The Asian Games is very important. It’s the Olympics of Asia. So we love to compete with our neighbours and it’s always a fun and good environment to be in,” Al Sulaiti added.