Doha, Qatar: For the second consecutive day, falconers failed to catch homing pigeons in the Haddad Al Tahadi Championship, part of the 17th edition of the Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival (Marmi) 2026.
Held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani in Sabkhat Marmi in Sealine, the festival continues until January 24 and is supported by the Social and Sport Contribution Fund (DAAM).
In the competition between falcons and homing pigeons, the pigeons emerged victorious in the fifth group, as none of the falcons were able to catch them, and they returned safely to their nests in Umm Abeiriyah.
Head of the Haddad Al Tahadi Committee Shawi Al Kaabi stated that the number of winners in the championship and those qualifying for the final remains at eight falconers, noting that the championship will continue Wednesday evening with the sixth group.
For his part, Abdullah Fakhro, owner of the homing pigeons, said that the pigeons' superiority for the second day in a row in the Haddad Al Tahadi Championship within the Marmi Festival confirms that organized work and continuous training make the difference in such difficult competitions.
It is worth noting that the festival is held annually as part of Qatar's efforts to preserve the heritage of falconry as a Qatari and Gulf tradition, as well as a global heritage, following Qatar’s success along with several other countries in registering falconry on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011. Since then, the festival has become an important landmark for this global heritage, attracting thousands of falconers from Qatar and the Gulf region, in addition to participants from several Arab and foreign countries, and drawing significant interest from enthusiasts of falconry sports and breeding worldwide.
