Doha: Chinese shooter Hu Binyuan tipped India's Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as his toughest opponent in the Doha Asian Games.

"Rathore is a dangerous opponent even though Ahmed Al Maktoum is not coming," said Hu, world runner-up in double trap.

"But in shooting, concentration is most important and I won't let my guard down," added Hu, who won a gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

Al Maktoum, 42, who won the first Olympic gold for United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 2004 Athens Games, will not take part in the Asian Games starting Friday. He is a member of the ruling family of Dubai, and was once the UAE national champion in squash.

"It is really a pity, because he is a great shooter. He didn't compete internationally this year," said Chinese head coach Sun Shengwei.

In the Busan Games four years ago, neither of China's three shooters made it to the podium in the men's double trap individual event and they were beaten to second place by South Korea in the team contest.

The shooting competition will be held from Dec 2-8 at Lusial Shooting Complex, offering 44 gold medals.