TURKEY, INDIA STAY ON COURSE AS UAE BATTLE ON IN ISAF NATIONS CUP

Dubai, UAE, 4th April, 2006: Turkey and India maintained their winning habit in the ISAF Nations Cup regional qualifier in Dubai today (Tuesday) as Ahmed Shaheen battled to keep the UAE in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals.

Orkun Soyer’s Turkish crew were again in commanding form, following up four wins on the opening day with two more victories to maintain their 100 per cent record as the first round robin series of match racing continued at Dubai International Marine Club.

After suffering their only loss on the opening day to Soyer following two earlier wins, Asian champions India won four more head-to-head matches today to draw level with the Turks at the top of the standings with six victories each.

It was a frustrating day meanwhile for Shaheen, whose all-Emirati crew is fighting for the right to represent the UAE in the grand finals of the ISAF Nations Cup in Ireland in September.

After two wins and a defeat on the opening day they suffered a second loss at the hands of India as the round-robin series resumed, before quickly bouncing back with victory over Cedric Le Rest’s crew representing the host club.

But the UAE team then failed to capitalise after taking winning positions in their next two matches and suffered defeats at the hands of Jebel Ali Sailing Club’s Christopher Graham, and India for the second time on the day.

With the first round-robin series continuing and a second round-robin series getting under way tomorrow (Wednesday) the highly rated Shaheen still held high hopes of taking the UAE into Friday’s semi-finals.

"Ahmed is very talented, and he showed it at times today," said Sid Ahmed, sailing director at Dubai International Marine Club. "At the moment he is losing out because he lacks experience, and perhaps his concentration lapses at times, but he will only get better."

The Turks have been sailing together for a year after winning their first match racing event in Italy last spring. They booked their place in Dubai this week by beating seven other crews to win the Turkish qualifying event last month.

Skipper Orkun Soyer said: "We didn’t really know what to expect this week, but we followed the Dubai Match Race on the internet in January and knew India would be strong.

"Match racing is never easy because one small mistake and the other guy is in front and then it’s very hard to get past him. For the round robin series we’re just going out to win every race, but if we get through to the final there will be more tactics involved."

"We’re trying to get used to the boat because it’s completely new to us," he added. "We’re winning at the moment but we’re talking everything over after each match because we want to improve." 

The teams are competing in a daily round-robin series of match races aboard four V1/Lutra-30 Sport Boats, and enthusiasts can follow the event by visiting www.dimc-uae.com/sailing/isaf

India (Mahesh Ramchandran) bt UAE 1 (Ahmed Shaheen)
Turkey (Orkun Soyer) bt DIMC (Cedric Le Rest)
India (Ramchandran) bt UAE 2 (Yousuf Khalid Mohammad)
UAE 1 (Shaheen) bt DIMC (Le Rest)
India (Ramchandran) bt DOSC (Bekky Britton)
JASC (Christopher Graham) bt UAE 1 (Shaheen)
DIMC (Le Rest) bt DOSC (Britton)
Turkey (Soyer) bt JASC (Graham)
JASC (Graham) bt DOSC (Britton)
UAE 2 (Mohammad) bt DIMC (Le Rest)
JASC (Graham) bt UAE 2 (Mohammad)
India (Ramchandran) bt UAE 1 (Shaheen)

Turkey (Soyer) 6 wins
India (Ramchandran) 6
UAE 1 (Shaheen) 3
JASC (Graham) 3
UAE 2 (Mohammad) 2
DIMC (Le Rest) 2
DOSC (Britton) 0

1. Cedric Le Rest’s crew find the going tough in the ISAF Nations Cup qualifier in Dubai.

2. The UAE’s Ahmed Shaheen battles towards victory over Cedric Le Rest’s DIMC crew in the Nations Cup qualifying event today

3. Dean Barker, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand, was a surprise visitor to Dubai International Marine Club en route to the Valencia for the start of the America’s Cup challenge series. He is pictured with DIMC sailing director Sid Ahmed (left), Mohammed Saifan, a member of the UAE team preparing for the Asian Games in Doha, and the UAE’s Italian coach Raymond Tonelli

4. Turkey cruising towards another victory over Cedric Le Rest’s DIMC crew

- Tony Lewis, Narayana Marar, Total Communications Dubai -