DOHA, Nov 18 (KUNA) -- Kuwait has won the first and second positions in the pearl-diving tournament of the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival.
Oman came third in the same tournament.
The Kuwaiti team voiced much happiness at winning the competition, and dedicated their victory to the Kuwaiti political leadership and people.
The annual festival hosts several cultural, sporting, traditional and environment-related tournaments, including pearl diving, free diving, rowing and best sailing dhows.
The first Kuwaiti team, Sabah The Humanitarian, succeeded in collecting some 91,423 pearls while the second, Fath Al-Khair, gathered around 70,197 pearls.
Hussain Al-Houli, skipper of Sabah The Humanitarian Team, attributed the victory to dedication and hard work of his crew before and throughout the three-day tournament.
Al-Houli said the crew used old pearl-diving tools similar to the ones used by "our fathers and forefathers when they dove for pearls ... for four month sna 10 days, during which they faced tough conditions in the Gulf waters," he added in a statement.
He said the tournament was a revival of traditions and a reminder of the difficulties the fathers and forefathers experienced.
Abdullah Al-Rashed, skipper of Fath Al-Khair Team, said the harmony among the crew members contributed to winning the second place.
He said participation of Kuwait improved performance of the pearl divers. (end) nnd.bs