Kuwait beat Oman 6-0 in opening game of GCC Ice Hockey Ch'ship

KUWAIT, June 6 (KUNA) -- Kuwait dominated proceedings in the opening fixture of the Third GCC Ice Hockey Championship, demolishing Oman, 6-0, on Friday.
The home side, who were runners-up in the last two editions, did not find any difficulties in earning their first two points of the four-nation tournament, while in a later fixture two-time champions, the United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar, 7-1.
The competition, which ends on June 12, is being organised by the Kuwait Club for Winter Sports under the auspices of Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs' sports division deputy chief Ahmad Al-Khazaal said in a statement after the opening ceremony that Kuwait is committed to breathing life into winter sports in the country.
These efforts include providing budgets required for training camps and taking part in and hosting events on the regional and international scales.
He welcomed attending delegations and commenced to deliver the greetings of the sponsor, Sheikh Salman, and the President of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
For his part, Kuwait Winter Sports Club president Fehaid Al-Ajmi said in a speech at the launch of the event that its hosting demonstrates the ability of the nation to host events of this magnitude, in spite of their fairly new introduction to the country.
The competition pits member nations of the International Ice hockey Federation (IIHF), and this will give it a cutting edge to deliver high-grade competition, he added. (end) fsa.sd