Cyprus has withdrawn its nine-member shooting team from international competitions in Doha, Qatar, amid heightened security concerns linked to the situation in the Middle East and statements by Iranian officials.
The decision was confirmed by Cyprus Shooting Federation president Lenos Kyriakou, who said the delegation had pulled out of the competitions.
The team is expected to fly to Athens before continuing its journey to Cyprus.
Kyriakou said the decision was taken in consultation with the Cyprus Sports Organisation (CSO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He explained that, given the circumstances, there was no other option.
“Athletes from countries such as Sweden and Norway left their training sessions, while the Spanish team did not show up at all,” Kyriakou said.
He added that the withdrawal of the US team had also been taken into consideration.
A separate trip by Cypriot shooting athletes to the Gulf country, scheduled for Thursday, was also cancelled.
Foreign Ministry had advised against travel to Qatar
On 30 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs updated its travel advice for Qatar, recommending that all travel to the country be avoided.
In its accompanying notice, the ministry stated that, in view of the current security situation, it advised Cypriot citizens against travelling to Qatar and urged those already in the country to remain vigilant.
The security concerns come against the backdrop of previous tensions between Iran and the United States. On 23 June 2025, Iran launched a missile attack against the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar, near Doha, in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on 22 June 2025.
CSO intervened before withdrawal decision
The decision followed efforts by CSO president Giannis Ioannou to address the situation.
According to information, Ioannou consulted the president of the Cyprus Shooting Federation and held contacts with Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and Cyprus’ ambassador to Qatar, Elpidoforos Oikonomou.
On Thursday, Ioannou sent a letter to the federation president advising against the planned trip by athletes competing in the trap discipline. He also recommended that the possibility of repatriating members of the Cypriot delegation be considered.
Nine-member delegation had travelled on Monday
The delegation, which travelled to Doha last Monday, included six skeet athletes:
- Anastasia Eleftheriou
- Konstantina Nikolaou
- Panagiota Andreou
- Stefanos Nikolaidis
- Dimitris Konstantinou
- Petros Englezoudis
They were accompanied by national team coaches Michalis Katzianis and Takis Christoforou, as well as coach Christos Kourtellas.
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