Dubai, 25 February 2022: The latest edition of Fazza Championship for Saktoun Shooting, organised by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), kicked off on Thursday at Dubai’s Al Ruwayyah desert area, with a record participation of more than 2,000 male and female shooters.
This year’s edition is divided into five categories: Men’s Open; Women’s; Juniors (Boys) Juniors (Girls), and Dropping Plates. In order to preserve the heritage aspect of the sport, all participants were strictly required to compete using only the traditional Saktoun rifle, which is a traditional Emirati weapon renowned for its accuracy and was used in the past for fishing and hunting.
His Excellency Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmook, HHC CEO, inaugurated the opening of competitions, in the presence of Brigadier General Mohammed Obaid Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Tournament Organizing Committee
Men’s open category qualifiers
Omani Saeed Jumaa won first place in the opening day of the Men’s open category qualifiers. He achieved 78 marks, including hitting the bullseye (X) 7 times. His compatriot, Salem Ali Balhaf, came in second place with 78 points, including X 4 times; while Abdullah Al-Shamli scored 77 points to finish in third spot.
Al Muhairi expressed his gratitude to the participants for making this year’s competition the biggest so far in terms of number of competitors. Last year saw a reduced number of participants due to the pandemic but the championship made a big rebound this time.
“We expect 10 days full of excitement and strength, given the strong levels of the participants,” he noted.
Competition schedule
The shooting competition in the Women’s category will take place on Saturday, February 26; followed by the Juniors a Men’s open qualifiers on Sunday, February 27. The Men’s open qualifiers will continue on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Dropping Plates will take place on March 4 and 5
