Skip to main content

Dakar Rally champion Al-Attiyah swaps motor for medals at Asian Games

Qatari rally driver Nasser Al-Attiyah has won two Asian Games shooting medals
— Hangzhou (China) (AFP)

Five-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah did no training for the Asian Games -- and still came away with two medals in shooting.

The 52-year-old all-rounder, already an Asian Games gold medallist in shooting in 2002 and 2010, returned to the podium with a men's skeet team silver and skeet individual bronze in Hangzhou.

Such is the Qatari's busy life on the rally circuit that he had no time to pull the trigger in training before arriving in China.

"When I am competing in rally driving, no skeet training. Nothing, zero training," said Al-Attiyah, who won an Olympic skeet bronze at London in 2012.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 for annual access.