 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The classy turns popular
An Egyptian teenager outclassed the field in Al-Ahram Organisation's First Equestrian Grand Prix. But that was only part of the story. Another triumph of note was the organisation's progress towards helping turn the sport, stereotyped through the ages as a game for the rich and famous, into a grassroots spectacle. More than 6,000 spectators were on hand to watch the event in Alexandria and an equal number showed up for the Cairo show. The figures, though modest when compared to international attendance, are a marked improvement from previous equestrian tournaments.
"Al-Ahram's previous experience in organising championships for sports that do not have much of a following, like squash and handball, have helped increase their popularity as well as the number of youths taking them up," said Essam Abdel-Moneim, head of the sports section at Al-Ahram and vice president of the championship's organising committee. "Al-Ahram's policy is to invigorate spectator interest in sports few people watch or participate in. Showjumping is one of them." Abdel-Moneim cited the sport's elite history as a reason why the general public might be averse to playing it. "But with this championship, I think we have achieved what we were aiming for," he said. "The competition was a success." So, too, observers agree, has been Al-Ahram's four-year-old policy of sponsoring world-class events in tennis, squash, handball, football and taekwondo.
The three-day equestrian event was staged in two rounds at two sites. In unusually sunny weather for this time of year, the first round was held at the Army Forces Equestrian Club in Cairo while Alexandria Sporting Club was the venue of the second. Riders representing Holland, Austria, Italy, France, Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Egypt took part.
Egyptian teenager Sameh Hatteb in action at the First Equestrian Grand Prix in Cairo
photo: Youssri Aql
After performing in three different courses using varying heights, 17-year-old Egyptian Sameh Hatteb came out the winner. Showing flawless form in the final, Hatteb beat arch-rival Syrian Yasser Al-Sherif, winning the title and LE5,000 in prize money.
According to Abdel-Fattah Ragab, a member of the Equestrian Federation's board of directors and head of the competition's committee, the championship "was a good opportunity for our riders to meet and compete with showjumpers from throughout the world. This will give them the experience and courage they need in international championships."
Ragab said the federation was just now starting to benefit from its junior riders who have been training for the past three years. "They are being prepared for the Mediterranean Games in Tunisia in 2001 and the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece," he said. Ragab added that the tournament also afforded the opportunity to establish two national teams. Team A, comprising Sameh Hattab, Ahmed El-Sawaf, Karim Hamdi, Karim El-Sobki, Ashraf Bassiouni and Hadi Gabr, will participate in Syria's Basel Al-Assad's international equestrian championship next month. Team B includes Mohamed Sabri, Mohamed Ossama, Mohamed Ragab and Sameh El-Dahan.
