Doha: The shooting competitions for the junior and amateur categories were held today as part of the 17th Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival (Marmi 2026).
According to Qatar News Agency, the festival is held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, and is supported by the Social and Sport Contribution Fund (DAAM), in Sabkhat Marmi in Sealine, and will continue until Jan. 24.
In the junior category, Mohammed Ali Al Athba won first place, Rashid Mohammed Abu Shuraida came in second, and Ali Masoud Al Athba finished third. In the amateur category, Tamim Hamad Al Marri clinched first place, Bader Kifah Al Yousef finished second, and Khalid Khalifa Al Muhannadi took third place.
In this context, Head of the Shooting Committee at the Marmi Festival Ahmed bin Mubarak Al Kuwari highlighted annual participation in the festival to promote shooting sports in the community, as these events provide an opportunity to discover talent in this sport and enjoy great public interest in Marmi.
Al Kuwari noted that the goal of the junior championship is to attract these young athletes to the national team as well as to provide recreation for the participants and diversify the festival's activities. He pointed out that the shooting championship is divided into two categories: a junior championship for the 14-18 age group and an amateur championship.
He added that the professional competition will be held on January 17 and that the organizing committee has allocated valuable prizes for each category.
The winners in the amateur and junior shooting championships expressed their happiness with their results and with the atmosphere of the championship in particular, and the Marmi Festival in general. They praised the organizing committee for its parallel events and activities, which contribute significantly to preserving the authentic falconry heritage in the community. Meanwhile, the ninth group of the Haddad Challenge Championship was held in the evening, resulting in Abdullah Fakhro's pigeons emerging victorious over the falcons.
Chairman of Haddad Challenge Committee Shawi Al Kaabi said Abdullah Fakhro's pigeons have once again proven dominance over the falcons, showcasing exceptional strength, experience, agility, and lightness-qualities honed through rigorous training that enabled them to evade the falcons' talons.
The semi-finals of the Al Talaa Championship will be held tomorrow morning, while the competitors will enter the Haddad Challenge arena for the tenth group.
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.