No phone, no Twitter: 60-year-old Kuwaiti Al-Rashidi’s secret to gold in shooting

KUWAIT’S Abdullah Al-Rashidi claimed his fourth Asian Games gold medal in skeet shooting on Wednesday and the 60-year-old said the secret to his longevity and his sharp vision is staying away from the phone and social media.

Abdullah scored a perfect 60 to equal the world record in the final to clinch Kuwait’s first gold at Hangzhou ahead of Anant Jeet Singh Naruka of India.

To put Abdullah’s age in perspective, Naruka was born in 1998 – the same year the veteran Kuwaiti shooter won his third world title.

“I am happy to win a fourth gold medal because I am over 60 years old. Today I only missed one target from 110 targets. This happens when you play every day, you exercise, go swimming, and eat well,” said Abdullah.

When asked about his training regime, he said: “You keep your body strong.

I don’t look at the phone or Twitter, because this is not good for your eyes. I look after my body and my health, and I go to sleep early and wake up early.

“I make a good but difficult training programme, to look to the future.”

Despite winning gold medals at the world championships and Asian Games, his best result at the Olympics was bronze in Rio and Tokyo.

With the Paris Olympics around the corner in 2024, Abdullah said he still has a long way to go before he decides to call it a day.

“I want to shoot more towards the next Olympic Games in Paris, because maybe I have the chance to go,” he said.

“Inshallah, we have time to shoot (at) the next two Olympics.” — Reuters