Italy beat Russia for sailing title [Gulf Daily News, Manama, Bahrain]

Mar. 22--ITALY defeated bitter rivals Russia to clinch the 44th World Military Sailing Championship which concluded yesterday at the Bahrain Sailing Club premises near Al Jazayer Beach, Zallaq.

It was a perfect finale to this 10-day event, organised for the first time in the region with top sailing teams from across the world in the fray.

The final was held in strong winds starting from 15 to 20 knots and reaching up to 25 knots.

But it was the Italians who proved the better side in the final race. The Italians are coached by Ercole Petraglia and comprised of Romolo Emiliani, Fabio Montefusco, Pierlulgi Fornelli, Paolo Emilio Ciam and Giancarlo Simeoli.

Russia, coached by Kanov Sergey, were spearheaded by Andrey Arbuzov, Sergey Budanov, Alexey Krylov, Vyacheslav Kaptyukhin and Petr Kochnev.

Turkey, comprising Kemal Mujlubas, Kaan Ozooneng, Metin Yasamali, Mert Koseoglu, Baris Bilge and coached by Kani Vardar, finished third.

France were fourth, followed by Norway in fifth place, Finland sixth and Denmark seventh.

Bahrain Maritime Sports Association (BMSA) president and organising committee member Shaikh Khalifa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa witnessed the final day's action with Italian ambassador Enrico Padola and his Russian counterpart Victor Smirnov.

Shaikh Khalifa thanked General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa for his support to sailing activities in Bahrain.

The BMSA chief also highlighted the significant role of companies and establishments which sponsored the event, adding that without their support it would have been difficult to have this championship here in Bahrain.

The event was sponsored by Lurssen, Trafco, Abu Dhabi Ship Building, Alba, Bapco, Batelco, MBDA Missile Systems, Banagas, Bahrain International Travel, Dadabai Travel and Yateem Air-conditioning.

Other sponsors included Jawad Group, Al Safeer Travel and Tours, Nadia Travel Agency, Turkish Airlines, AJM Kooheji Group, House of Travel, Bahrain Kuwait Insurance, GPIC and A A Bin Hindi.

The week-long championship got underway with 21 teams, including six Arab countries -- Oman, UAE, Tunisia, Qatar, Libya and hosts Bahrain.

The remaining countries were Italy, France, Russia, Pakistan, Canada, India, Poland, US, Norway, Brazil, Turkey, Finland, Austria, Denmark and Spain.

Teams were divided into three groups of seven squads. The first stage featured round robin races and the top four teams from each group qualified for the second round.

The second round also featured a single round robin battle, with the best four countries reaching the semi-final knock-out stage.

Hosts Bahrain, coached by Kasem Ben Jumia and represented by Ebrahim Abdulla, Abdulrahim Abdulla, Ahmed Abdulaziz and Khalid Bu Hassan, could win just one of their six races in Group 'C'.

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