Egypt pulls team from Qatar-hosted short course swimming worlds
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Egypt has withdrawn its team from the world short-course swimming championships being held in Qatar.
Swimming's governing body, FINA, says it "regrets the Egyptian Swimming Federation decision to not take part" in the Dec. 3-7 event.
Egypt is the third Middle East country within days to boycott a Qatari-hosted sports world championship.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates pulled teams which qualified for the 24-nation men's handball worlds starting Jan. 15. Egypt remains in that tournament.
Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia recalled their ambassadors from Doha in March to protest apparent Qatari support for Islamist groups across the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
FINA says without Egypt, the short-course world championships will have a record 900 athletes from 170 countries competing.
