Oman's Dughaishi claims opening gold

4/1/2014 1:01:10 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Experienced Omani rider Hamood al Dughaishi got the hosts off to a golden start in the inaugural Tent Pegging World Cup, clinching the individual lance gold after a playoff at the Al Rahba Farms in Barka on Monday.

Dughaishi made a clean sweep in the six-round event, picking up all the pegs to collect 36 points. He was tied on points with Egypt's Mamdoh Mostafa. The tie forced the jury to hold a playoff and in the deciding single-round play, Dughaishi collected six points against Mostafa's four.

Mostafa settled for silver, while Iraq's Abdelhamed Rashed Hemaid won bronze with a total of 35.5 points.

Oman's Hamood al Dughaishi in action on his way to a gold medal in the individual lance event at the Al Rahba Farms in Barka on Monday

Qatar's Eid Jasem Bohdod edged out Oman's Nasser al Siyabi for the fourth place on time after they were tied on 34 points each.

In the second event of the day - individual rings and peg - Mostafa (6.80s) was once again denied a gold, losing a close contest with Sudan's Mohamed Aly Shobely (6.47s) on time after both the collected 36 points each.

All the top four riders, including South Africa's Martin Grobbelaar and Andre van Niekerk, had 36 points each, and the podium had to be decided on time. Grobbelaar took bronze (7.41s), while van Niekerk finished fourth in 7.61s. The fifth place went to South Africa's Johan Joadaan (35.5 points). Oman's best performer in that event was Hilal al Balushi (34), who took sixth place.

Between the two events, the World Cup's opening ceremony was held under the auspices of H H Sayyid Harib bin Thuwaini al Said. Also present was H E Sheikh Saad al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs, Mohammed bin Issa al Fairuz, the chairman of the International Tent Pegging Federation, Sayyid Mundhir al Busaidi, the OEF chief, and other dignitaries.

An all-women Mounted Police band and a few acrobatic horse and camel shows kept the guests entertained.

Omani players and officials celebrate Dughaishi's gold in the Tent Pegging World Cup

A total of ten countries are competing in the five-day event with two gold medals - in individual sword with peg, and sword with lemon and pegs - to be decided on Tuesday.

Dughaishi said after receiving the gold medal from H H Sayyid Harib al Said, ''It was a very close competition. The win was a result of hard work and exposure at international events in India and Pakistan over the past few months.''

Mansoor al Mahrouqi, the Oman team's coach, told Muscat Daily, ''We knew that Hamood [Dughaishi] is very good in individual lance, he proved it today. We are hopeful that he will keep his good run going and bring more glory in the events to follow.''

Mahrouqi added, ''After the first day, South Africa leads the overall table, followed by Oman. We lost two points in the rings and peg event. Hopefully, we will make up for it in the next few rounds.''

Sayyid Mundhir, the OEF chairman, said, ''We are glad to host the inaugural Tent Pegging World Cup. ''I hope it will help in promoting the sport across the world. We hope to witness intense competition among the participating countries. The first day proved that the standards are quite hi

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