QNA
Finnish Thomas Kaiu Haku won the H H The Amir’s Cup Bowling Championship title after his victory in the final on Friday evening against Emirati Ahmed Al Mahri. Haku won with a 410-355 scorline.
Qatari Yousef Al Jaber finished third in the tournament, which was organized by Qatar Bowling Association over eight consecutive days at the Qatar Bowling Center with the participation of the most prominent ranked players including Thailand's Anoop Aronsarnon.
The round of 16 saw six Qatari players, namely Yousef Al Jaber, Jassim Al Muraikhi, Badr Al Sada, Jassem Al Diab, Mansour Al Hajri and Nasser Al Sahouti, but only three of them qualified for the quarter-finals, which Youssef Al Jaber won. Ali Nasser Al Sahouti, and Jassim Al Muraikhi lost to Emirati Ahmed Al Mahri.
The championship had a total prize money of US$102,000 which was distributed among the places from the first to 48th with the winner receiving $20,000 and the runner-up $12,000.
Haku expressed his happiness on winning the title after fierce competition in the final from Al Mahri, and before that in the semi-final from Qatari Al Jaber.
He stressed on his keenness to participate in this tournament annually because it is considered one of the best tournaments due to its good organization and presence of top players.
He pointed out that the tournaments held in Qatar are the best organisational wise and technically in this part of the world given the top facilities provided by Qatar federation.
For his part, Al Jaber expressed his satisfaction with the result he achieved, pointing out his ambition was to win the championship title, especially since he made a good start and topped the overall standings in the early stages. But in the semi-final a poor start in the first attempts saw Haku gain edge.
Al Jaber thanked the Qatar Bowling Federation for its great interest in the players of the Qatari team, who showed good levels in the tournament, which witnessed the great participation of players from Asian, Arab and Gulf countries.
For his part, Salem Al Marzouqi, Board Member of Qatar Bowling Association and Tournament Director, praised the high technical level in the tournament. He applauded Qatar players’ performance as the competition was strong. It is also a good preparation for the national team players ahead of the Arab Championship, which will be held next August in Egypt, he stressed.