Dubai: It will be a hectic weekend for Faisal Shaikh, Events Manager for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, the organisers of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships. Even though the tournament tees off on Thursday, Shaikh was at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club course from the early hours yesterday morning — fine-tuning the nitty gritty of such a big showpiece as some of the biggest names of the course hit the driving ranges.
While the ADTA has leveraged the golf championship quite successfully to boost leisure tourism in the emirate, they are also big on niche sports like triathlon and take pride in the manner the capital has made giant strides as a sporting hub in the Middle East. This weekend will see two major international events vying for attention in Abu Dhabi — the golf championship and the second cricket Test between England and Pakistan.
While Shaikh is banking on the ‘Tiger Factor’ to act as a major boost for the upcoming edition, he also takes pride in the depth and breadth of the field. "We have not sacrificed this ethos just to get Tiger," he adds. Following are excerpts of an exclusive interview with Gulf News.
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