Reem wins silver as Qatari shooters claim three medals at Asian Shotgun Championship

Doha: Qatari shooters collected three medals, including one gold and two silver, in the skeet events on the fourth day of the Asian Shotgun Championship at the Lusail Shooting Complex.Qatar struck gold in the men’s team skeet, with Rashid Saleh al-Athba, Mohammed Ahmed al-Kuwari and Ali Ahmed al-Ishaq finishing top with a combined score of 352 targets across five rounds. Kuwait settled for silver on 350, while Kazakhstan claimed bronze with 345.In the women’s individual skeet, Qatar’s Reem al-Sharshani secured silver after scoring 31 targets in the final. Kazakhstan’s Adil Sadakbayeva won gold with a record-breaking 33 out of 36, setting new Asian and world marks, while compatriot Olga Khailova took bronze with 28.Al-Sharshani was also part of Qatar’s women’s team that claimed silver alongside Sara Mohammed and Hajar Mohammed, posting a total of 347 targets. Kazakhstan topped the standings with 350 to win gold, while China finished third on 325.The men’s individual skeet final produced two new Asian and world records, with Kuwait’s Mohammed al-Daihani and Kazakhstan’s Eduard Yashchenko both hitting 33 out of 36. Al-Daihani prevailed in the shoot-off to claim gold, with Yashchenko settling for silver. South Korea’s Jang-soo Hwang took bronze with 27.With these results, Qatar’s medal haul in the championship rose to five, comprising two gold and three silver medals in the skeet events.Rashid Saleh al-Athba expressed his delight after the men’s team triumph. Al-Athba said: “Today’s competitions were strong and difficult in light of the participation of Asian champions and top-ranked players, but we were able to compete with them and achieve the gold medal. Our female shooters also managed to win two silver medals. We look forward to continuing to win titles tomorrow in the mixed team skeet competition.”Al-Sharshani said she was pleased with her double silver haul. “The competitions in the championship were very strong among the various shooters in Asia, and the scores were very close, but we were able to win two silver medals despite the difficult atmosphere today. However, the encouragement of our fans in the Lusail fields gave us positive energy and motivated us to achieve victory, and we look forward to winning gold medals in the mixed doubles competition,” she said. 

Qatar handball team open Asian Championship campaign against Oman

Kuwait: Qatar handball team will face Oman on Friday as they begin their campaign at the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship, taking place in Kuwait from January 15 to 26. The tournament also serves as a qualifier for the IHF World Championship 2027.The draw placed Qatar in Group A alongside South Korea and Oman. Group B includes Bahrain, Iraq, China and Jordan, while Group C features Kuwait, the UAE, Hong Kong and India. Group D comprises Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Australia.The top two teams from each group advance to the main round, which will feature eight teams divided into two groups playing a round-robin format. The top two from each main-round group will qualify for the semifinals, in addition to securing direct qualification for the 2027 World Championship.Qatar aim to defend their Asian title after winning the last six consecutive editions of the championship, and to qualify for the World Championship for the 11th time in their history. Their best-ever World Championship finish came at Qatar 2015, where they claimed second place.The Qatari team were crowned champions of the 21st edition of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship, held in Bahrain last year, after defeating Japan national handball team 30–24 in the final. 

Qatar’s Meteb Al Marri sets new Asian and world records at Asian Shotgun Championship

Doha: Qatar’s Meteb Al Marri claimed gold and set new Asian and world records in the youth skeet competition on the third day of the Asian Shotgun Championship at the Lusail Shooting Complex on Wednesday.Al Marri produced a stellar performance in the final, hitting 32 of 36 targets to establish the new records. Kazakhstan’s Maxim Pochivalov took silver with 31 targets, while his compatriot Vladislav Zavodilenko earned bronze with 26.Qatar added another medal in the youth team skeet competition, as the trio of Al Marri, Jassim Mohammed Al Yafai and Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Harami secured silver with a total of 304 points. The Kazakhstani team of Pochivalov, Zavodilenko and Artem Ryfkov won gold with 340 points while Kuwait’s Ahmed Al Hassan, Ibrahim Al Harbi and Mohammed Al Rashidi claimed bronze with 266.In the Junior Women’s Skeet event at the Asian Grand Prix, Kazakhstan swept the podium. Lydia Basharova won gold with 25 targets, followed by Asul Sadakbayeva with 23 for silver, and Angelina Sorokina with 21 for bronze.The medalists were crowned by Dr Meshaal Ibrahim Al Nasr, President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation, and Sheikh Salman Al Hamoud Al Sabah, President of the Asian Shooting Federation. 

Qatar Handball Team arrive in Kuwait for Asian Championship

Kuwait: The Qatar national handball team delegation arrived in Kuwait today to take part in the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship, scheduled to be held from January 15 to 26. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2027 IHF Men’s Handball World Championship in Germany.Qatar will begin their campaign by facing Oman on Friday, as part of Group A competition, before taking on South Korea next Tuesday.The draw for the Asian Championship placed Qatar in Group A alongside South Korea and Oman.Group B includes Bahrain, Iraq, China, and Jordan, while Group C features Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and India. Group D comprises Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.The top two teams from each group will advance to the main round, which will feature eight teams divided into two groups playing a round-robin format. The top two teams from each main-round group will qualify for the semifinals, in addition to securing direct qualification for the 2027 World Championship.The Qatar national team is aiming to retain the Asian title it has won in the last six consecutive editions and to qualify for the World Championship for the 11th time in its history. Qatar’s best-ever result at the World Championship came at the 2015 edition in Doha, where the team finished as runners-up.Qatar were crowned champions of the most recent 21st edition of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship, which was held in Bahrain last year, after defeating Japan 30–24 in the final. 

WTT Star Contender Doha qualifying round sees intense action

Doha: The WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 kicked off at the Lusail Sports Hall on Tuesday. The tournament will continue until January 18, with the participation of 170 male and female players from various countries around the world, and with prizes amounting to $300,000.The tournament competitions are held in five categories: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.The first day of the tournament was intense and exciting, featuring the preliminary rounds of the tournament, during which players sought to secure their places in the main table amidst a highly competitive atmosphere.In the men’s singles, Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Khadrawi lost to South Korean Lim Jong-hoon with a score of (3-1), Iranian Navid Shams defeated Norwegian Borgar Haug (3-2), while Romanian Raris Cebus triumphed over Qatari player Nawaf Al Malki three sets to none. Egyptian Mohamed El Beily achieved victory over Qatari player Abdullah Abdulwahab (3-2). Czech player Lubomir Jankarc defeated Hong Kong player Lam Siu-Hang (3-1), Chinese player Yuan Lizin defeated Hong Kong player Ho Kwan Kit(3-2), Chinese player Xu Yingbin triumphed over Frenchman Florian Bourasud(3-0), and India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee achieved victory over Singaporean Pang Keun with the same score.Qatar’s Youssef Abdullah also lost to China’s Hsu Hsin Chia 3-0. In an exciting match, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Bushlaibi lost to India’s Akash Pal (2-3) while America’s Ma Jinbao defeated Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader (3-0).In the women’s singles, Qatar’s Alia Al-Baz lost to India’s Swastika Ghosh (3-0), India’s Yashasvini Gurpadeh defeated Hong Kong’s Lee Hoi Man (3-0), and in another match, China’s Han Feier defeated Taiwan’s Chen Chi-chuan (3-0).The Star Contender Doha 2026 witnesses the participation of a large number of top-ranked players who excelled in the WTT Champions Doha 2026 tournament, most notably Chinese Taipei player Lin Yun-ju, the men’s singles champion in the previous tournament, along with the top-ranked Chinese player Lin Shidong, the Japanese player Tomokazu Harimoto, and the Brazilian Hugo Calderano, which raises the bar for the challenge and increases the strength of the competitions.In the women’s competition, Macau’s Zhou Yuling, the WTT Champions Doha 2026 champion, continues her participation, along with defending champion Kwai Man, Korea’s Shin Yeo-bin, Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, and China’s Chen Yi, ranked among the top ten in the world.In women’s doubles, the competition is led by Korean and Japanese pairs, while in mixed doubles, attention is focused on the Korean pair Lim Jung-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, champions of the WTT Hong Kong 2025 finals, along with the Hong Kong pair Wong Chun-ting and Do Hui-kim, and the Spanish pair Alvaro Robles and Maria Chiao.Following the conclusion of the “Star Contender”, the “Contender Youth” tournament will take place from January 19 to 22, followed by the “Star Contender Youth” tournament from January 23 to 25, and concluding with the “Feder” tournament from January 27 to 31. 

Qatar lose to Japan in AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Jeddah: Japan finished top of Group B after cruising 2-0 past Qatar in their AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 tie on Tuesday.The defending champions led from start to finish with goals from Shusuke Furuya and Ryunosuke Sato for a perfect record and will face Jordan in the quarter-finals.Japan head coach Go Oiwa retained just three players from the side that beat the United Arab Emirates 3-0, while Qatar also rang in the changes with Ilidio Vale making five.Having already secured their quarter-final berth with a match to spare, Japan dictated the tempo from the outset with Tokumo Kawai, Yudai Shimamoto and Haruta Kume all seeing their efforts thwarted.Kawai ent close in the 26th minute with his curling free-kick well saved by Qatar keeper Amir Hassan before Yutaka Michiwaki had his headed attempt ruled out three minutes later.Japan’s aggressive approach finally paid off at the half-hour mark when Shusuke Furuya rose highest to nod home Kaito Koizumi’s cross from the right.Shimamoto came close to doubling Japan’s advantage in the 51st minute when Shuto Nagano set up the Shimizu S-Pulse midfielder, only to see his stinging shot from distance saved by Hassan.Qatar almost fell further behind in the 77th minute but Shimamoto was denied by the left post before Japan ramped up the pressure with Ryunosuke Sato pouncing on a calamitous pass from Hassan to slot past the Qatar custodian three minutes later.Japan pushed for a third with Kawai seeing his shot saved by Hassan in the 84th, while Shimamoto missed a sitter in stoppage time after hitting over the bar.