A spectacular show of sporting camaraderie marked the grand opening ceremony of the 49th CISM World Military Shooting Championship at Lusail Shooting Range yesterday evening.
The championship, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East, was declared opened by Chief of Staff of the Qatar Armed Forces HE Lieutenant-General Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem to mark the beginning of the eight day-long event.
Announcing the championship open, al-Ghanem said, “The participating countries competing in Qatar will increase the competitive spirit and strongly contribute to enrich the military world sports movement. I wish the participating athletes all the success.”
More than 700 shooters and officials from 50 countries are contesting across six disciplines in each category during the nine-day tournament which will end on November 19.
Organised by Qatar Armed Forces under the auspices of International Military Sports Council (CISM), the championship will see some of the top shooters, who have won Olympic medals and have been world champions, turning out for their respective military teams.
Qatar Military Sport Association president Major General Dahlan al-Hamad said, “We feel privileged and proud that we are hosting shooters from 50 countries in this event. This shows the interest from around the world to participate in the event.”
Speaking on the occasion, CISM Sport Committee — Shooting president Colonel Bruno Wolfensberger said, “International military sports council is aware of the huge responsibility, risks and the challenges which face the region and the whole world. As an international council we have intensified our efforts to accomplish many peaceful projects in some unstable regions using sports fields, competition and rapprochement between armies instead of war and destruction.”
Bruno also praised the role of Qatar Armed Forces in the CISM movement.
“Qatar Armed Forces enjoys a reputed place in the CISM movement due to its major support for this organisation through hosting of different CISM activities and being a head for some of the committees, like sailing and boxing.”
CISM is a worldwide organisation with member countries spread across continents and it organises various sporting events for the armed forces for 133 member countries. The ultimate goal of CISM is to contribute to world peace by uniting armed forces through sports and they operate under the motto ‘Friendship through Sport’.
Founded in 1948, the CISM is one of the largest multidisciplinary organisations in the world. The last World Military Shooting Championship took place in South Korea in November 2015, while Switzerland had the honour of hosting the top military shooters a year earlier.
Qatar is being represented by a strong contingent of 29 shooters and ten officials at the tournament. The host shooters, as part of their training programme for the championship, took part in various camps outside the country and had a training camp in Switzerland last month.
This is the second time Qatar is hosting a major military shooting championship. In 2013, Qatar Armed Forces in collaboration with CSIM had hosted the Second CISM International Shotgun Championship at the same venue. The three-day championship had 65 shooters from ten countries taking part in the Trap and Skeet categories.
The last World Military Shooting Championship took place in South Korea in November 2015, while Switzerland had the honour of hosting the top military shooters a year earlier.
Women Trap final will be held today along with elimination rounds for men team’s  300m Standard Rifle three positions and 25m centre fire pistol event.  

Following events will be held during the competition
Men
* 300m Standard rifle 3x20 (Team and Individual)
* 300m Military Rapid Fire (Team and Individual)
* 25m Centre Fire Pistol (Team and Individual)
* 25m Military Rapid Fire Pistol (Team and Individual)
* Trap 125 targets (Team and Individual)
* Skeet 125 targets (Team and Individual)

Women
* 50m Rifle 3x20 (Team and Individual)
* 50m Rifle Prone (Team and Individual)
* 25m Pistol (Team and Individual)
* 25m Military Rapid Fire Pistol (Team and Individual)
* Trap 75 targets (Team and Individual)
* Skeet 75 targets (Team and Individual)