| Birth Date: | 11 October 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| Weight: | 960NaN0 |
| Sport: | Shooting |
| Event: | Trap, double trap |
| Coach: | Mirko Cince |
| Olympics: | Gold medal at Rio Summer Olympics 2016 |
| Headercolor: | lightsteelblue |
| Updated: | 10 August 2016 |
Fahad Al-Deehani (Arabic: فهيد الديحاني, born October 11, 1966) is a Kuwaiti professional target shooter and officer in the Kuwaiti military. He was born in Kuwait City.[1] [2]
Al-Deehani won a bronze medal for the men's double trap shooting event at the 2000 Summer Olympics and thus he became the first Kuwaiti to ever win an Olympic bronze medal.[3] He won another bronze for the men's Olympic trap shooting event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Al-Deehani competed as an "independent Olympic athlete" because Kuwait was banned from the Olympics by the IOC.[4] Al-Deehani called for the resignation of Kuwaiti officials responsible for the IOC ban,[5] but refused to carry the Olympic flag in the 2016 Olympic opening ceremonies. Al-Deehani defeated Italian Marco Innocenti in the gold medal match of the men's double trap, becoming the first independent athlete and Kuwaiti to win a gold medal.[6] He said the medal is the best answer to those who kept the Kuwait flag away from the award ceremonies[7] He added that everyone was calling him “Fehaid the Kuwaiti”. This medal, he added, would carry the name of Kuwait. “I was not representing the Olympic Committee; rather I represented Kuwait.”[8]
Al-Deehani had retired in the year 2018 after an illustrious career.[9] On 28 August, 2023, he announced in a instagram post that he is returning back to international competitions as per an appeal from the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah and in response to homeland's call for return.[10]
In 2014, Al-Deehani won silver in the Asian Games double trap competition.[11]
| Olympic results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2012 | 2016 | ||
| align=left | Trap (mixed) | 29th 140 | Not held | |||||
| align=left | Trap (men) | Not held | 20th 119 | — | — | Bronze 124+21+4 | — | |
| align=left | Double trap (men) | Not held | 10th 136 | Bronze 141+45 | 8th 134 | 4th 140+45+1 | Gold 135+28+26 | |