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BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Qatar’s gold winning performance at last month’s Asian Games was a ‘surprise’ result for retired Dutch rider Jan Tops, the man who created the lucrative Global Champions Tour (GCT) series.
Qatar’s Nasser Ghazali, Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani, Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi and Basem Mohammed produced a flawless performance to clinch the gold at last month’s Incheon Asian Games.
Qatar finished ahead of Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Tops, who is the President of GCT, said yesterday: “I am happily surprised how Qatar have improved in show jumping. For Qatar, last year has been so successful with Arabian horses, racing and jumping.”
The 53-year-old Dutch added: “Some 10 years ago they were merely making up the numbers but now they target the podiums. They are riding more consistently. They won the team gold in Korea last month. This experience will help them go further when they compete with the best.”
Qatar’s top riders including Bassem will feature at this season’s last stop on the Longines Global Champions Tour set to begin at Al Shaqab Arena tomorrow.
The world’s top riders will compete at the state-of-the-art Al Shaqab Arena for over €1.7m in prize funds and the 2014 GCT title.
The feature class of the show and the final Grand Prix of the season will take place on Saturday afternoon at 5.15pm, organisers said yesterday.
Three of the biggest stars in the sport - four-time Olympic Gold medallist Ludger Beerbaum of Germany, world no.1 Scott Brash of Great Britain or two-time Olympic Ssilver medallist Rolf-Goran Bengtsson of Sweden are in the running for the overall season title.
With the 2014 season about to reach it’s thrilling climax, Tops hinted at a US event next year and new destinations in 2016.
“The Longines Global Champions Tour features the world’s best riders,” Tops said yesterday.
“Competing against them helps you improve,” said the gold medal winning star from the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
Tops said Qatari rider Bassem has a chance to get on the podium on Saturday. Tops applauded Bassem’s history-making Grand Prix win in Monaco and the Qatari team’s gold medal at the Asian Games this year.
“Now they (Qatari riders) are contenders to be on the podium, which is a tremendous change this year. They are much more consistent and the crowning glory was winning at the Asian Games last month,” he said.
Fahad Al Qahtani, President of Al Shaqab, said: “We started with events here in 2011 and after the 2011 Arab Games, we showed we were capable of organising major events. It’s the second year we are doing this event. It was very successful in size and value. The best riders are at Al Shaqab.”
He added: “We want to give the Al Shaqab experience to the world. We are positioning ourselves with high targets and vision. We have the greater vision which is Qatar Foundation (QF) and its community projects and community development opportunities. We have recreation for families and a riding centre. We are very careful about selecting events, making sure we connect with the right partners. We consider them strategic partners.”
Tops said: “It is always a pleasure to come to this venue. It is unique on the world stage. We have a great cooperation with the team here and it goes smoother every year.”
He added: “For Qatar, this year has been successful on so many fronts. We are building a great partnership - Al Shaqab and GCT are hosting the greatest riders in the world for the final event of the season. We have a possibility of three winners, all Olympic medallists and we have a great weekend of sport ahead.”
Omar Al Mannai, the Al Shaqab Event Director, said: “We have the participants for the national events from Qatar Equestrian Federation and from the army of all ages, we have seen that it is good to have national competitions that give the opportunity to local riders to compete with the stars of the equestrian world.”THE PENINSULA
