258 falcons take part in elite competition
DUBAI: The 9th edition of Fakhr Al Ajyal (Pride of Generations) Falconry Championship, organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), came to an thrilling climax on Sunday with 258 top flight falcons competing in the Noukhba (Elite) Championship for Falconry at Dubai’s Al Ruwayyah desert area.
Al Noukhba is considered as the creme de la creme or super championship, where only top three falcons that won in previous 106 matches this season were allowed to compete and vie for top prizes. Some 60 birds out of the 258 top qualifiers were multiple winners in the previous races.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum crowned the ‘Elite’ (Noukhba) champions of Fakhr Al Ajyal. Teams Al-dhafra, F3, Al-wasl, Al-khalis, Al-qubaisi, Al-hajri, Al-marar and Al-mansouri reaped supremacy.
Al Dhafra team swept the first three places in the highly-coveted Sheikhs category with falcon ‘S92’ leading the pack with a time of 17.339 seconds, closely followed by ‘S81’ that clocked 17.342 seconds, and in third place was ‘S82’ with 17.621 seconds.
Team F3 snatched first place in the Jirnas race with its falcon ‘3’ finishing in 17.049 seconds while Al-wasl team won in the third race ater falcon named ‘Dhahab’ bested opponents in 19.631 seconds.
The race for Farkh Shaheen was won by Rashid Ghasab’ falcon ‘Gabba” that clocked 18.385 seconds while Abdullah Khalfan Al Qubaisi’ falcon grabbed top spot in another Farkh race with a time of 17.446 seconds
Khaled Nasser Al-hajri won the Jirnas open category with his falcon ‘Yas’ finishing in 17.243 seconds while Ahmed Mohammed Al-marar won in the 7th race with falcon “Sweid” top performance of 17.796 seconds. Sultan Rashid Al-mansouri won the general category Jirnas race with falcon named ‘Gold’ finishing in 18.174.
The elite falconers were unanimous in saying that the level of competition has increased every season. Yarrah Obaid Bin Shannah Al-ketbi, captain of Al Dhafra team, said the success of his team can be credited to team work and strong support from the leadership.
F3 team captain Khalifa Ahmed Bin Mejren Al-mrarr also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the organisers in keeping a top-notch level of falconry championship. Another champion falconer, Khalfan Buti Al Qubaisi, also praised the passion, commitment and dedication shown by all participating falconers from across the UAE.
Meanwhile, the concluding competitions of Fakhr Al Ajyal will be from February 15-16 for the GCC Category. A record number of elite falconers from the region are expected to participate in the various races for Farkh and Jirnas falcons.