Al-Tamimi qualifies to Qatar Classic quarterfinals

Doha: Team Qatar's Abdullah al-Tamimi on Tuesday reached the quarter-finals of the Q-Terminals Qatar Classic 2025 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Al-Tamimi beat Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.In the quarter-finals, al-Tamimi will meet England’s Jonah Bryant, who defeated Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria 3-2 (6-11, 16-14, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7).The day began with a roar as the local hope, al-Tamimi, stepped onto the glass court. Pitted against Bonmalais, al-Tamimi had to dig deep.Losing the first game 8-11, the Qatari refused to wilt. Fuelled by the home crowd’s fervour, he wrestled back control, securing the next three tight games (11-9, 11-7, 11-7) in a focused 56-minute display, ensuring the flag of Qatar flew high into the next round.“I’m feeling amazing, it’s been a good season and I always enjoy playing here at home,” said al-Tamimi.“Nobody gives up and everyone is fighting to win the match, there are a lot of opportunities with a lot of the seeds being out and you can see the fight in people’s eyes. I knew I had the edge, but he surprised me with his movement today.“It’s been a long time since I’ve reached the quarter-finals here. I’m looking forward to playing Jonah again after losing 3-0 to him in Egypt (earlier this month). I wasn’t happy about that, but hopefully we give a good show for the crowd.”England’s World No 20 Bryant came out on top in a gripping five-game battle with World No 14 Zakaria.Bryant, 20, and Zakaria, 18, have been touted as future World No.1 by fans and SQUASHTV pundits alike and Tuesday’s match gave a tantalising glimpse into what could be yet to come, with Bryant prevailing after a 109-minute thriller.The pair had one win each against each other on the PSA Squash Tour, while Zakaria got the better of Bryant in the final of the 2024 British Junior Open last year. However, things went the way of the Englishman Tuesday in Doha as he completed an 6-11, 16-14, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7 victory to reach his first Platinum-level quarter-final.“I put a lot of work in, in the background, to be able to perform like this physically,” said Bryant afterwards.“It all seems worthwhile when you then go out and do it on the court for 109 minutes. I started off fairly well, I was controlling a lot of the rallies, there were a few too many errors early on, but then I settled. I saw he was dropping off physically, so I stepped up and started attacking more. He’s as tough as they come, so I was pleased with the result.“He shot himself in the foot, they (referees) are hot on players taking their space, they can slow it down and review it. A lot of the shots he hit would have been winners, if he let me go through it would have been harder for me to win rallies.“He gave me free points, it’s up to him if he wants to keep doing it, it might work for him, but today it worked against him.”World No 3 Paul Coll and Egypt’s World No 23 Mohamed Abouelghar will face off in the other quarter-final match on the bottom half of the men’s draw following respective wins over Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann and Spain’s Iker Pajares.France’s Melissa Alves has reached her first Platinum quarter-final since the 2021 US Open after going through at the expense of Malaysia’s Aira Azman, who was forced to retire due to a concussion.Azman was looking to join compatriots Sivasangari Subramaniam and sister Aira in the next round but fell and hit her head on the floor while chasing a ball into the back of the court when 2-1 ahead. Azman was unable to continue the match. 

Qatar to field men’s and women’s teams at U-18 Beach Volleyball World Championships

Doha: Qatar is preparing to participate in the U-18 Beach Volleyball World Championships, which will be hosted in Doha from October 7 to 11 on the Al Gharafa Beach Courts.The country will be represented by two teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions. For the men, the first team includes Moussa Al-Khair and Ahmed Ziyad, while the second features Jassim Al-Tamimi and Saad Al-Awad. On the women’s side, the first team will consist of Banda Ibrahim and Maryam Mouhoub, and the second team will include Lujain Mahmoud and Celine Mahmoud.A total of 64 teams will compete in the tournament, divided equally between men’s and women’s categories, with 32 teams in each. Matches will be held daily across four courts, running from 3:00 PM until 11:00 PM.This is the first time the Middle East has hosted the championship, following previous editions in Thailand (2021), Turkey (2022), and China (U-19 category in 2024).In the last edition, Poland won the men’s title, while Latvia finished second and Iran third. In the women’s competition, the United States claimed gold, Spain took silver, and the U.S. also secured bronze.Participating teams have already begun arriving in Doha, with Chile’s delegation being the first to land on Monday evening. The arrivals take place amid strong organizational efforts and thorough preparations by the Qatar Volleyball Association to ensure the success of this major international event.

Team Qatar to participate in West Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Lebanon

Beirut: The Qatar Athletics Association has announced the national team squad that will take part in the third edition of the West Asian Youth Championships, scheduled to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, from October 2 to 5 with the participation of 12 countries.The Qatari squad includes 16 male athletes and two female athletes who will compete across track and field events. Among the sprinters, Timo Jassim will contest the 100m, while Ahmed Haroun is entered in the 200m. Youssef Abdulaziz and Mohamed Kali will run the 400m, and Hatem Hameed is set for the 800m and 1500m. Mubarak Saeed will also compete in the 1500m in addition to the 3000m. In hurdles, Hussein Mohamed and Idris Abubakr are lined up for the 110m hurdles, while Abdulrahman Mohamed and Abdulrazzaq Idris will run the 400m hurdles. Younis Al Baloushi and Ibrahim Zakaria are slated for the pole vault, and Mohamed Faisal will participate in both the long jump and triple jump. In the throws, Saleh Mahmoud and Mohamed Jimi will take part in shot put and discus, while Abdulrahman Ibrahim is set for the hammer throw.The women’s team will feature Dana Salem, who will race in the 100m and 200m, and Mariam Al Salik, who will compete in the 800m and 1500m.In its official statement, the Qatar Athletics Association emphasized that this year’s participation involves a strong group of promising talents across both track and field disciplines, with the goal of winning medals and continuing the success of Qatari athletics on the regional stage.

Qatari swimming team wins two medals at Asian Aquatics Championships

Doha – The Qatari swimming team won two medals at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad, India. The tournament continues until October 11.Swimmer Ali Tamer won the gold medal in the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.45 seconds. This is the first gold medal for Qatar in the history of this championship.Swimmer Mohammed Mahmoud won the bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke, with a time of 28.09 seconds.The Qatari team includes four swimmers: Ali Tamer, Mohammed Mahmoud, Hamza Shalaan, and Abdullah Al Ghamri.This championship includes 25 countries, and the sports are swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming.

Team Qatar loses to Saudi Arabia at Gulf U-17 Football Cup

DOHA  - The Qatari U-17 national team lost to Saudi Arabia 1-2 in the semi-final match held Tuesday at Grand Hamad Stadium in the Gulf U-17 Football Cup.The Qatari team took the lead through Adam Freikh in the 29th minute, while Mohammed Moayed and Abdulrahman Sufyani scored for the Saudi team in the 82nd and 85th minutes.The Saudi team will now meet the UAE in the final on October 3.

Hania El Hammamy qualifies to Qatar Classic quarterfinals

Doha: World No.26 Aira Azman celebrated her 21st birthday by reaching the quarter-finals of a Platinum-level PSA Squash Tour event for the first time, beating Egypt’s Zeina Mickawy to join fellow Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam in the last eight of the QTerminals Qatar Classic.It will be the first time since the 2015 British Open that two Malaysian women have reached the quarter-finals of a major PSA tournament at the same time, with eight-time World Champion Nicol David and former World No.12 Delia Arnold achieving that feat a decade ago.Azman beat Mickawy 11-8, 11-7, 13-11 at Doha’s Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex to set up a quarter-final match with World No.5 Amina Orfi, while Sivasangari overcame Belgium’s Nele Gilis in a clinical straight-games win.“It’s my first time playing this tournament and first time in a Platinum quarter, so they are big [ranking] points for me, which has boosted my confidence,” said Azman afterwards.“Today is my birthday too, so I’m very happy to reach the quarter-finals. I was really into my game plan in the first two games, I was sharp, I lost a bit of focus and she came back. But I managed to get back on top to win in three.“I will celebrate with my sister [Aifa], but she has a match tomorrow, so I hope she wins that. Amina was really sharp today, I’ve played her at the World Juniors two years ago, but there is no pressure on me, she’s the World No.5.”2023 champion Hania El Hammamy continued her title challenge with a 3-1 victory over England No.2 Jasmine Hutton. El Hammamy conceded the first game after Hutton stormed out of the traps in an attacking start, but El Hammamy weathered the storm to take three unanswered games. El Hammamy will play Sivasangari next.“It’s always tough playing against Jasmine, and it always goes to four,” said El Hammamy afterwards.“I know how dangerous she is, she’s very talented and she has good hands. On this court specifically, it was always going to be tough. The ball dies so quickly in the front and it takes a good, accurate length. She was better in the first game, her accuracy was higher than mine, so I tried to level up my accuracy and be more up to it, and I think that was the difference in the end.”World No.15 Fares Dessouky has reached the last eight after coming out on top in a five-game battle against India’s Abhay Singh, coming back from 2-1 down to win 11-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3.It’s the first time in over three years that Dessouky has reached back-to-back quarter-finals at major PSA events, having also reached the last eight at the CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month. He will play fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim for a place in the semi-finals.“It was a very tough match and I had to dig in every game,” said Dessouky.“I put two balls in the tin [at the end of the first game], so it was difficult mentally to back up and get the second game. I’m proud I did that and kept pushing. I thought about the mistakes I was making in the early stages and cut down the errors, which worked.”World No.1 Mostafa Asal booked his spot in the quarter-finals after a straightforward win over Frenchman Gregoire Marche. Asal, who reached the final last year and won the CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month alongside El Hammamy, will play fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman next.“He’s 35 years of age and he’s a legend,” said Asal.“He’s a warrior, a fighter, and he gives 100 percent inside the court to entertain us. I’ve been watching him since he was very young and he’s played his 500th match this tournament, which is absolutely superb. It was a tough match, but I adapted to the court and atmosphere.”