DOHA: Qatar fires the starting gun for the World Athletics Championships today with an opportunity to showcase both its preparations for the 2022 football World Cup and how it is coping with a boycott by its neighbours, experts say.
But Doha also risks being “judged harshly” for missteps during the athletics showcase which could be held up by detractors as proof of its shortcomings.
Since 2017 Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies have enforced an economic boycott of Qatar, accusing it of supporting Iran and Islamist movements — charges it denies.
They cut direct air, land and shipping routes, closed airspace to Qatari aircraft and restricted citizens from visiting.
Nonetheless Saudi will send three athletes, Egypt five, the UAE one, and Bahrain 21 to the event being held for the first time in the Middle East.
Tobias Borck, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, said the Championships would give Qatar an opportunity to transcend the blockade, but might also highlight its isolation. – AFP
