Key Details of the Doha Fencing Grand Prix 2026 Announced

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January 18, 2026
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18-January-2026

Key Details of the Doha Fencing Grand Prix 2026 Announced

DOHA - The organizing committee of the Doha 2026 Grand Prix Fencing Championship unveiled details of the new edition of the tournament to be held from January 23 to 25 at the Aspire Hall.

Present at the launch press conference at Aspire Academy on Sunday were Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim, President of the Qatar Fencing Federation, Ali Salem Afifa, Deputy Director General of Aspire Academy, Khalid Suwaid, Tournament Director, Hamad Saad Al Jassim, Deputy Tournament Director, and members of the federation.

Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim, President of the Qatar Fencing Federation, said that this is the 21st edition of the tournament, is considered as one of the largest Grand Prix tournaments organized by the International Fencing Federation.

Hamad Saad Al Jassim, Deputy Director of the Championship, confirmed that this year’s edition will witness the participation of 433 male and female players, with 254 male players and 179 female players representing 53 countries, led by the top three ranked players in the world in the two categories, and Olympic champions, including Japanese Koki Kano, winner of the gold medal at Paris 2024 Olympics, winners of the Tokyo Olympics, and Belgian Nacer Lajola, winner of the title of the previous edition of the Grand Prix Fencing Championship in Doha.

Regarding Arab participation, Al Jassem said the tournament will see participation of players from eight Arab countries: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Tunisia, and the UAE.

He pointed out that Qatar will participate with 9 players, 5 men and 4 women, namely: Youssef Abdel-Tawab, Mohammed Abdel Ali, Mohammed Al Hazza, Abdulrahman Al Jadra, Ali Al Khalaf, Fatima Al Madid, Dhikrayat Al Abdullah, Wadha Al Abdullah, and Sheikha Ali. They have prepared for this event by participating in many external tournaments, whether continental or Arab, and also through internal and external preparatory camps.

He also noted that the tournament will see the participation of 19 referees managing the competitions, including 3 referees from Qatar, namely Mohammed Al Tairi, Mohammed Basahel and Bashir Al Sharbaji.

The deputy director of the tournament said that the organizing committee relies heavily on volunteers to make the tournament a success, and their number in the current edition has exceeded 150 volunteers, which is a very large number... praising their important role in the successful organization of the competitions.

Al Jassim has invited the public to attend the tournament competitions at Aspire and enjoy watching the world and Olympic champions.

Ali Salem Afifa, Deputy Director General of Aspire Academy, expressed his pride that the Grand Prix Fencing Championship (Doha 2026) will be held at the Aspire Academy Hall, describing the championship as one of the most successful championships in which a large number of the academy’s students participate and we look forward to them achieving positive results.

He said: “We have been partners with the Qatar Fencing Federation since 2006 to hold this tournament in Aspire, and we will provide all support to the federation. There are agreements between us, and we wish them success.”

Prizes totaling $22,000, with $11,000 will be distributed to the winners of the top three places in the men’s category and the same among the winners in the women’s category. The winner of first place in the men’s or women’s category receives $5,000, the runner-up receives $3,000, and the third place player receives $1,500.