(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) An injury to Musaab al Hadi forced Oman's sailing duo of Hadi and Ahmed al Balushi to pull out of the F18 Catamaran World Championships that is being held off Long Beach, in California, US.Hadi, who was the team's helmsman, and his partner had won the opening race in emphatic style earlier this week. But the team was forced to withdraw from the rest of the campaign after Hadi hurt his hand when the trapeze line failed during the second race.The Omani duo's boat was leading the pack when the mid-race injury took place.A total of 118 teams from 13 countries - comprising Olympic medallists and world championship title holders - are taking part in the event, hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club.With Hadi being treated at a local hospital, Balushi went back into the waters for the third race with a substitute helmsman. But Oman's jinx continued as its boat collided with another yacht before the start of the race and was forced to withdraw from contesting.Paul Wakelin, Oman team's coach, said that the contingent tried its best to continue racing after the good start, but nothing worked. ''As a team, we considered all our options, but we had to withdraw from this year's world championship due to Hadi's injury,'' said Wakelin.A disappointed Hadi said that he would resume training soon and prepare for the 2013 World Championships._________________________________Musandam-Oman Sail leads on day one of Cascais City Races
Muscat - Musandam-Oman Sail finished on top of the overall standings after the first day's City Races in Cascais, Portugal, during the MOD70 European Tour on Friday.The Omani boat won the third and final race in style after delivering consistent performances in the first and second races.Following two third-place results, the Sydney Gavignet-skippered Musandam-Oman Sail won the third event, finishing ahead of runner-up Foncia and No 3 Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.''It is nice to get a pay-off for our hard work,'' said Gavignet on the dock at the Marina de Cascais. ''We re-grouped a bit after the second race, because I heard a little shouting on board, so we just cooled things down a little, and so now we are all doing our own work, each doing his job.''For us it's always important to keep a good atmosphere on board. That is the key. I said that before the MOD70 European Tour. Today it was the key and that is the key for the future for a round-the-world race. So we are happy, we stay relaxed.''Earlier Musandam-Oman Sail finished third in the second leg of the MOD70 European Tour, which concluded in Cascais, Portugal on?Wednesday. Spindrift racing made the most of a light breeze on the approach to the finish line to take the top spot while Foncia finished second.Second leg results: 1 Spindrift racing, 2 Foncia, 3 Musandam-Oman Sail, 4 Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, 5 Race for Water.
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