(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Omani sailors geared up for a tough challenge in their bid for a medal haul in Abu Dhabi UAE as the seventh GCC Sailing Championship got underway on Wednesday.
The event which concludes on April 4 is taking place on three races courses close to Corniche Beach and Lulu Island.
Four senior sailors and seven members of Oman Sail's National Youth Sailing Squad are competing in four classes and are looking to improve on last year's performances when the team won gold and bronze medals in the optimist individual class and a Laser 4.7 silver and gold in the optimist team race.
Ahmed al Hasani and Ahmed al Balushi are representing Oman in the Laser Standard class while Musab al Hadi and Ahmed al Wahaibi are flying the sultanate's flag in Laser Radials fending off stern challenges from Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Saudi Arabia and hosts UAE.
Among the youngsters Layth al Mahrouqi who won a silver medal at the IODA African Championships last year and Ahmed al Wahaibi who won a gold medal in last year's GCC Championships are battling it out in the Laser 4.7 class.
The Oman Sail squad also features a five-member Optimist team which was selected following their performances at the Musannah Race Week in January. The team includes Marwan al Jabri Zakariya al Wahabi Oman's first Optimist national champion and Samiha al Riyami currently the only girl in the side and the youngest athlete to represent the sultanate at the Asian Games in South Korea last year.
Jihad al Hasani 11 and Al Moatasem al Farsi will also be looking to add an Optimist medal to Oman's haul following an intensive training camp in Abu Dhabi. 'We are now in the fourth year of the Oman Sail's Youth Programme and our previous successes mean the pressure is on these youngsters in Abu Dhabi' said Rashid al Kindi Oman Sail's national youth team manager.
The squad is being accompanied by a team of coaches and support staff including Kindi Abdul al Shidi Oman Sail's national optimist coach Hamed al Yahmadi national sailing team coordinator Alain Champy head of Oman Sail's performance pathway Marina Psichogiou youth sailing development manager and Sultan al Zadjali assistant optimist coach.
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