Established 1961 13 Sports Monday, January 15, 2018 Oman’s Essam Albalushi wins gold medal with score of 241.7 points Al-Roudhan opens Amir 7th Int’l Shooting Grand Prix

Essam Albalushi Shooters taking their position for 10m Air Rifle competition. Special performance during the opening ceremony.

By Abdellatif Sharaa The finals of Trap for men and women will be played today, as well as the 10m air rifle for women. KUWAIT: Commerce and Industry Minister, State Meanwhile, Minister Al-Roudan told journalists fol- Minister for Youth Affairs Khalid Al-Roudhan opened lowing the opening ceremony that the Grand Prix has a HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Seventh Annual special significance as it comes following the lifting of Shooting Grand Prix at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad the suspension on Kuwait shooting. He said it also Olympic Shooting Complex, as 350 shooters are repre- comes following the hosting of “Khaleeji 23” soccer senting 39 Arab and foreign countries. tournament, and is considered a true return to hosting The opening ceremony was also attended by important sports events here in Kuwait. Minister of Public Works, Al-Roudhan lauded the State Minister for Municipal efforts of the organizing Affairs Eng Hussam Al- committee of the Grand Prix, Roumi, Director General of as well as Kuwait Shooting Public Authority for Sports Federation for the outstand- Dr Humoud Falaiten, Director Kuwait returns to ing organization of the open- General of Public Authority ing ceremony. for Youth Abdelrahman Al- hosting important President of Arab and Mutairi, President of Asian Kuwait Shooting Federations Shooting Federation Sheikh sports events Eng Duaij Al-Otaibi in his Ali Al-Khalifa, Vice President opening speech said the of International Sports contributions of HH the Amir Federation Luciano Rossi, to the sport of shooting are heads of delegations and many as he gave all support shooting sport fans. and care for athletes and the building of the unique The ceremony included a display of participating Olympic shooting complex. countrie’s flags, and a documentary about Kuwait Al-Otaibi thanked HH the Amir for patronizing the Shooting Federation’s achievements and an operetta grand prix for the seventh consecutive year, and titled “Kuwait of Peace and Humanity”, by Ministry of thanked Minister Khalid Al-Roudhan for attending the Education students. opening ceremony as representative of HH the Amir. KUWAIT: (From left) Sheikh Ali Al-Khalifa, President of ASC, Khalid Nasser Al-Roudhan, Meanwhile the results of first day of competition Omani Shooter Essam Albalushi said that winning Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Duaij Khalaf Al- saw Oman’s Essam Albalushi win the gold medal with first place was very difficult, as competition was very Otaibi, President of Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federation and Eng Hussam Al-Roumi, the score of 241.7 points, followed by Saudi Arabia’s strong with highly talented shooters. He said the most Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipal Affairs are seen during the Misfer Al-Ammari with 240.4 and Bahrain’s Mahmood difficult stage for him was the semi finals against Misfer opening ceremony. Ali Haji third with a score of 219.6. Al-Ammari and Bahrain’s Mahmoud Haji.

Hirscher wins fifth slalom Europe fight back of the season to defeat Asia

WENGEN: The irrepressible stayed in EurAsia Cup on course for his seventh successive overall World Cup title and sounded a warning to his Olympic rivals with KUALA LUMPUR: Europe came from behind to another dominant win yesterday, this time in the slalom defeat Asia 14-10 and retain the EurAsia Cup title at Wengen. The Austrian, who will be aiming to add a yesterday, in a boost for captain Thomas Bjorn as he first Olympic gold in Pyeongchang next month to his gears up for the Ryder Cup. Bjorn’s side entered the glittering array of titles, won by 0.93 seconds from final day of the tournament in Malaysia trailing Asia long-suffering Norwegian rival . by one point but put on a masterclass in the singles, Hirscher was fastest in both legs as he claimed his winning eight out of 12 matches. fifth successive slalom win and left Kristoffersen to It was a disappointment for Indian captain Arjun contemplate his seventh second place of the season, Atwal’s men, as Team Asia had ended the first two five of those behind the Austrian. Andre Myhrer of days of the event-which featured foursome and four- Sweden was third on a difficult, icy course which saw ball matches-with a slim lead. Asia has never won the more than 20 skiers fail to finish the first run. WENGER: Winner Austria’s Marcel Hirscher (C), second-placed Norway’s Henrik biennial Ryder Cup-style tournament. Europe “At the moment, he’s just better, that’s the way it is Kristoffersen (L) and third-placed Sweden’s Andre Myhrer (R) celebrate on the podium after thrashed them the last time it was held in 2016 while and I don’t really have anything more to say,” the men’s Slalom race at the FIS World Cup in Wengen, yesterday. — AFP the inaugural 2014 edition ended in a tie. Kristoffersen told reporters. “I’ll never give up that’s for Europe dominated from the start Sunday and their sure, I’ll keep fighting and I’ll train as much as I have to winning point came when Belgium’s Thomas Pieters so that one day I can be on top of the podium again.” myself,” said Hirscher. “I’ve managed to win this race tops the overall standings with 974 points and extend- defeated South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun in a hard- Although Hirscher has won 53 World Cup races, it for the first time, it’s something special for me.” ed his lead over Kristoffersen, who is second, to 174. fought match. Bjorn hailed his side’s victory in the was his first success at Wengen, considered one of the “This was the only classic race in the slalom calendar Alexis Pinturault of France is third on 579. Hirscher has $4.8 million event: “It was a great performance today circuit’s classic events, and where Kristoffersen won for that I hadn’t won today, and the media were always won eight races altogether this season, with the other from every single one of them. There was a determi- the past two seasons. “Everybody is beatable including asking me why, so now that matter is finished.” Hirscher three in . — Reuters nation and a will of wanting to win this.” The Dane is also Europe’s Ryder Cup captain and the Malaysian event was a chance for him to run the won my 10th here again and I want to rule over a heavyweight European side before the Chan, Daleman live here,” Chan said in a rink-side inter- showdown against the USA in France in September. “I view. “What a way to kick it off. “Today learned a lot about myself this week,” said Bjorn, was not the dream skate I imagine but whose team included six Ryder Cup veterans. “I win at Canadian when you look at every champion in learned a lot about these 12 players, and they have all got potential to be in Paris in nine months time.” every sport, it’s up and downs that cre- Despite the loss, Atwal said he was “very proud” ate champions and how you weather the titles as of his team. “They are all awesome players, it’s just storms, weather the challenges.” unfortunate that we ran into a buzzsaw today,” he Chan won silver in Sochi four years said. “It looked like every time I watched my players, Olympics loom ago and has said he felt overthinking the they were hitting the edges and it seemed Europe, experience had hampered him. Daleman every time I watched them, were either chipping in or VANCOUVER: Patrick Chan won the produced a brilliant free skate to finish making birdies.” Canadian figure skating championships with a Canadian record score of 229.78 Bjorn’s side, all European Tour winners, won seven men’s title for the 10th time on Saturday, points and edge Kaetlyn Osmond, who is of the eight first matches Sunday at the Glenmarie while Gabrielle Daleman celebrated her still expected to start as one of the Golf and Country Club near Kuala Lumpur. In his 20th birthday by winning the women’s favourites next month after winning sil- Gabrielle Daleman showdown, Pieters started strongly by winning four competition. ver at last year’s world championships. of the first six holes against An to establish a strong Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the “Hopefully the frustration I feel here lead but the Korean fought back and levelled the ice dance with a steamy performance to will motivate me for the next month,” was highlighted by their performance to needed to have a different style. match. The Belgian scored a seven-foot putt at the the music of Moulin Rouge in Vancouver, said Osmond. Daleman will head to Moulin Rouge, which they hope will pro- “If that was bringing an edge or sexu- 15th to move back out in front before winning another while Meagan Duhamel and Eric Pyeongchang brimming with confidence. vide a difference in Pyeongchang. ality or darkness, or a contemporary feel hole, ensuring Europe would retain the trophy. Radford won the pairs. Three-times “You’re competing against number two “I think edgy would probably summa- to it, then mission accomplished I guess.” “It’s always nice to get the winning point,” Pieters world champion Chan was not at his in the world. This means the absolute rize most of the program quite well and Virtue and Moir won gold in Vancouver said. “I got off to a good start, then played pretty best, but did enough to prevail with a world to me going into an Olympic year,” that’s what we were going for,” Virtue in 2010 before taking silver in Sochi then poorly during the middle, then made a couple of very score of 274.24 points. she told reporters. In the ice dance, said. “We knew that taking the ice at an retired but launched a comeback last good birdies.” —AFP “I won my first senior title (here). I’ve Virtue and Moir’s eighth national title Olympic Games again meant that we year. — Reuters