DUBAI // Shiv Kapur is from the bustling Indian capital of New Delhi, and Pavit Tangkamolprasert is based amid the bright lights of Bangkok, Thailand, but on Friday both men gave reasons to feel at home at the Els Club.
The pair finished the second day of the inaugural Dubai Open with a share of the lead on seven-under.
The Dubai Sports City course is hosting its first professional tournament and the UAE’s first Asian tour event.
It also marks the tour’s season-ending finale, although the Order of Merit has already been secured by David Lipsky.
Kapur, who started his second round with an eagle on the first and racked up five birdies and only one bogey, lives in Dubai with his family.
Pavit, who held the outright lead before a double-bogey on the 16th, said the sloping greens at the Els Club reminded him of his home course at the Amata Spring Country Club near the Thai capital.
Kapur said: “I began by holing my second shot on the first hole, so that’s always a great way to start the day and I just eliminated the mistakes on my card. I made one bogey in two rounds and while I haven’t made a ton of putts or a ton of birdies, when you keep the bogeys off the card, you’re usually going to be there or thereabouts.”
He triumphed in Dubai on the European Challenge Tour at the end of last season. “The last time it was the season-ending event, too, and I won, so fingers crossed I can continue the mojo.”
Pavit, the newly-crowned Asian Development Tour No 1, had finished Thursday’s opening round here joint-second and yesterday added three more birdies before over-hitting the 16th. He finished his round with a birdie and a smile on the 18th to sign off a seven-under-par 137, one ahead of Simon Yates of Scotland, Korean teenager Wang Jeung-hun and Indian pair Arjun Atwal and Gaganjeet Bhullar,
“I’m very happy with my performance,” said Pavit, who won three times on the Asian Development Tour this season. “My game was very solid. I hit good irons, a lot of birdie chances and only one bad hole.
“On 16, I hit my driver into the bunker and had 50 yards to the flag. I then hit the full swing with the ball and it went about 100 yards over everything into the desert.”
Pavit’s compatriot Prom Meesawat arrived in Dubai needing a victory to climb to second on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and qualify for the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He signed off a four-under-par 68 for tied seventh place alongside Mena Tour No 1 Joshua White and Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka.
Of the 24 Mena Tour invitees who started the inaugural Dubai Open, White is one of 11 who made the cut last night. He will contest the final two days in a 66-player field that includes two Arab players: Moroccan duo Younes El Hassani and amateur Mehdi Saissi.
“I’m not really [surprised], to be honest,” White said of the high number of Mena Tour players to progress. “A lot of the pro tours now are all filled with very good players.
“Even the amateurs that play are very good. As you can tell from here, there’s not that much difference, but it’s really good to see – and a lot of the Arab players doing well too.”
Another Mena Tour player, Chris Cannon, will start today on three-under after hitting four bogeys and two birdies, while Kalem Richardson, Thursday’s leader, had an afternoon to forget as he undid all his good work by signing off five-over.
He will start today at one-under.
The tournament’s highest-profile draw, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, dropped a double-bogey on his last hole for a safe 71, but Tommy Fleetwood crashed out after shooting four-over. Fleetwood needed to finish in the top 16 to secure a place at next year’s Masters.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, May 3
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
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Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
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Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
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It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: CarbonSifr
Started: 2022
Based: Dubai
Founders: Onur Elgun, Mustafa Bosca and Muhammed Yildirim
Sector: Climate tech
Investment stage: $1 million raised in seed funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Yango Deli Tech
Based: UAE
Launch year: 2022
Sector: Retail SaaS
Funding: Self funded
Pakistan v New Zealand Test series
Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza
New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner
Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
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Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
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WITHIN SAND
Director: Moe Alatawi
Starring: Ra’ed Alshammari, Adwa Fahd, Muhand Alsaleh
Rating: 3/5
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45+2')