By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: The first five gold medals in HH the Amir Ninth International Shooting Grand Prix, being held at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex will be distributed today. The preliminaries of the 10m Air rifle for men will begin at 10:15 am, while the finals will be held at 12:00 noon.

The qualifications for the men's 10m air pistol will be held at 12:30 pm, while the finals will be at 2:30 pm. Trap qualifications for men and women will start at 9:00 am, while the women's finals will be at 12:45 pm, and the men's will follow at 2:30 pm. The archery finals will take place at 11:45.

Meanwhile, President of the Asian Shooting Federations Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah visited Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex yesterday morning, to see first hand how the tournament was progressing. He was accompanied by Italian Shooting Federation President Luciano Rossi, who expressed satisfaction to be participating with 19 shooters in various events.

Rossi spoke about the continued cooperation between Kuwait and Italian Shooting Federations, adding that Kuwait organizes tournaments in an outstanding form, as those involved in shooting are highly professional, with the facilities and the marvelous shooting complex, that is known worldwide.

Rossi said this year's competition has special flavor because it is a strong preparation for shooters qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Meanwhile, Italian Coach Ricardo Rossi lauded the preparations and facilities for HH the Amir Grand Prix, specially that the shooting complex is among the best in the world.

He said competition for the gold medal will be difficult due to the presence of the best shooters in the world, so it is really difficult to have any expectations.