Nasser Al-Attiyah, the renowned five-time Dakar Rally champion, achieved an astonishing feat at the Asian Games, where he secured two shooting medals without any prior training.
Despite his packed schedule as a rally driver, the 52-year-old Qatari athlete managed to claim a silver medal in the men's skeet team event and a bronze in the individual skeet competition in Hangzhou.
Al-Attiyah, who had previously clinched Asian Games gold in shooting in 2002 and 2010, attributed his success to experience rather than training. His demanding rally commitments left him with no time to practice shooting before the competition in China. He humorously mentioned, "When I am competing in rally driving, there is no skeet training. Nothing, zero training." Yet his impressive Olympic track record, including a skeet bronze in London 2012, spoke to his innate talent.
The contrast between rally driving and shooting is stark, but Al-Attiyah emphasised that certain skills overlapped, particularly mental strength. He regarded both sports as challenging and recognised that his accomplishments in rallying contributed to his prowess in shooting.
Despite his busy life, which once included horseback riding alongside his other sports, Al-Attiyah has consistently competed in Olympic skeet shooting events since the 1996 Atlanta Games. Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics next year, he remains determined to participate, even though he had to skip International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) events in 2022 due to his demanding rally schedule.
Reflecting on his future plans, Al-Attiyah revealed, "I am not in the ISSF competitions at the moment because I am also a professional rally driver. I am so busy." He expressed hope that the upcoming Olympic qualification event in Korea in October would provide him with the opportunity to secure a quota place for Paris.
Before focusing on his Olympic aspirations, Al-Attiyah will soon return to the rally circuit, competing in the Cyprus Rally next week.
