Crowd-favorite Al-Rasheedi returns with bronze

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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 15: Kuwaiti Olympic bronze medalist Abdullah Al-Turqi Al-Rasheedi Monday arrived at Kuwait International Airport amid a rousing welcome by notable state officials, lawmakers, sports personalities, families, and well-wishers on his way back from Rio de Janeiro after winning a bronze medal in the Skeet shooting.

The list of personalities that welcomed him at the VIP Lounge included Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Hamoud, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, MP Saad Al-Khanfour, and MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi. Others were Deputy Director General of the Public Authority for Sports Affairs Hamoud Fulaitah, Chairman of Kuwait Shooting Club Duaij Al-Otaibi, Secretary General of Kuwait, and Arab Shooting Association’s Obaid Al-Osaimi.

The list included several other senior officials from Public Authority for Sports Affairs, members of Al- Rasheedi family and well-wishers. In an address, Al-Rasheedi dedicated the medal to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al- Hamoud Al-Sabah and Kuwaitis; urbanites and Bedouins, Sunnis and Shiites.

He declared, “I wouldn’t have had any problem at all hoisting the Kuwaiti flag if it required paying dearly”. He urged the authority to give moral and material support to the shooting sport, indicating adequate preparations are needed in that concern. He assured Kuwaiti sport will have the best laugh soon “just as we fulfilled our promise to our father HH the Amir and brought Olympic medals to Kuwait. It was my wish to win gold but stiff competition and anxiety denied me the desire, as it refl ected on my focus in the final stage on the competition”.

He advised sports administrators in Kuwait to retrace steps and do the right thing. He also urged Kuwait and her citizens to be paramount in their considerations, urging them to jettison pride, division and confl ict. “In case I have to retire from sport, my son Talal will continue with professional shooting, because he is one of the outstanding youths in that field and I wish them all brighter future”, he reiterated.

In a speech, Deputy Director General of the Public Authority for Sports Affairs Hamoud Fulaitah assured the authority disbursed Olympic medal entitlements to double skeet shooting gold medalist Fehaid Al-Dehaini and bronze medalist Al-Rasheedi respectively after Kuwait Shooting Association forwarded a letter concerning their achievements.

He reiterated Al-Dehaini is entitled to KD 5,000 salary per month over a period of four years, while Al-Rasheedi will be receiving monthly salary of KD 3,000 for the same number of years. He noted the Amir grants benefits to sportsmen and women to motivate them for making the country proud.

By Khalid Al-Enezi Al-Seyassah Staff

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