Qatar Claims Double Silver at Gulf U21 3x3 Basketball Championship in Bahrain

Manama: Qatar’s U21 men’s and women’s 3x3 basketball teams delivered impressive performances at the Gulf 3x3 Basketball Championship for Youth, securing silver medals in both categories as the tournament concluded on November 20 at the North Harbour Courts in Bahrain.The championship—organized by the Bahrain Basketball Association under the umbrella of the Gulf Basketball Association—featured 10 teams representing Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. Bahrain and Oman participated with two men’s squads and one women’s team each, while Qatar and Kuwait fielded one team in each category.Bahrain dominated the podium, with Bahrain B taking the gold medal and Bahrain A earning bronze, while Qatar finished as runner-up after a strong and resilient campaign.Qatar began its journey with a 10–16 loss to eventual champions Bahrain B, but quickly regrouped to defeat Oman A 17–9. In the semi-finals, Qatar edged out Bahrain A in a nail-biting 16–15 victory before falling to Bahrain B again, 14–18, in the final.Qatar Men’s U21 Team:Mohammed Saeed Badri, Mohamadou Adama Diop, Ghassan Hajar, Owen Ekene AmahIn the women’s competition, Bahrain claimed gold after a dominant 21–8 win over Qatar in the final, while Oman secured the bronze medal.Qatar topped its group with wins over Oman (8–6) and Kuwait (14–4), despite a 12–18 loss to Bahrain. The team advanced to the final after defeating Oman 5–2 in the semi-finals before falling short against a strong Bahraini side in the championship match. 

Younousse, Tijan eliminated in Round of 16

Qatar’s campaign at the Beach Volleyball World Championships Adelaide 2025 ended in the Round of 16 yesterday, as Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan fell 2-1 to France’s Teo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat on Central Court.The Olympic bronze medallists started strongly, taking the opening set 21-15, but the French pair responded in the second to level the match, winning  21-16.The decider turned into a tense battle, with both teams trading points deep into extra time, before Rotar and Gauthier-Rat secured the third set 23-21 to advance to the quarter-finals and hand Younousse and Tijan their first defeat of the tournament.

Qatar’s men’s 3x3 basketball team wins bronze at Islamic Solidarity Games

Riyadh - Qatar’s 3x3 national basketball team claimed the bronze medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games on Wednesday. The Games are ongoing in the Saudi capital Riyadh until November 21, with more than 3,000 athletes representing 57 countries.Qatar hoopsters secured third place after defeating Bahrain 17–15. The bronze medal raises Qatar’s tally at the Games to eight medals: three gold, two silver, and three bronze.Qatar’s 3x3 basketball team comprised of Dejan Janic, Ahmed Mohamed, Nedim Muslic and Miho Harasic.Mohammed Al Mughaiseeb, President of the Qatar Basketball Federation, expressed his great satisfaction with the team’s bronze-medal achievement, noting that the result reflects the extensive work and continuous effort made by the federation to prepare the team in the best possible way for the Games.He said: “Just weeks ago, our youth team won bronze at the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, and today our senior team adds another bronze to Qatar’s basketball achievements. The progression shows that we are in the right direction and that we have a strong base of talent capable of achieving more in the future.”Al Mughaiseeb added: “This medal is the result of long-term work and comprehensive preparation. It reflects the character of the team and its ability to perform at a high level in major tournaments. Our players showed great composure and tactical awareness, especially in the decisive moments of the match.”Team Qatar player Ahmed Mohamed said: “We achieved what we worked for over the past period. It was a tough match, but we entered with strong confidence in our ability to win and gave everything we had on the court. I dedicate this medal to the Qatar Basketball Federation, the Qatar Olympic Committee, and everyone who supported us throughout the tournament.”Meanwhile, the Qatar handball team lost in the semi-final to Bahrain (30-31), ending hopes of making it to the final and defending the gold medal they had won at the previous edition of the Games. Qatar will now face the UAE on Thursday in the bronze-medal match. 

Team Qatar to take on France at Beach Volleyball Worlds

Canberra — Qatar’s beach volleyball stars are gearing up for a high-stakes showdown on Thursday as they face France in the Round of 16 at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Adelaide 2025, currently underway in Australia until November 23 with the participation of 48 elite teams.Qatar’s dynamic duo, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, stormed into the Round of 16 after a thrilling straight-sets victory over Brazil’s George and Saymon, edging out their opponents 23–21 and 22–20 in a tense Round of 32 clash on Tuesday.Their next opponents, France’s Rotar and Gauthier-Rat, also advanced with confidence after dispatching Argentina’s Amieva and Bueno in straight sets, 22–20 and 21–12.Determined and in top form, Cherif and Ahmed are aiming to overcome the French pair and secure their place in the quarterfinals, keeping alive their ambition of climbing all the way to the podium.The Qatari duo has been flawless so far, sweeping all their group-stage matches to collect the full six points.They launched their campaign with a strong win over Cuba’s Damian Gomez and Eblis Veranes (21–18, 21–14), followed by another straight-sets triumph against Switzerland’s Yves Haussener and Julian Friedli (21–15, 21–15).Their third group match saw them overpower Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger (21–12, 22–20), earning direct passage into the Round of 32, where they again delivered under pressure to eliminate Brazil’s George and Simon (23–21, 22–20).Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan continue to cement their status as one of the world’s top beach volleyball pairings. Their impressive résumé includes an Olympic bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, a fourth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and an outstanding eight gold medals this season alone—further proof of the remarkable rise of Qatari beach volleyball on the global stage. 

Team Qatar Climbs to 51st in FIFA Rankings, Fifth in Arab World

ZURICH – Qatar climbed to 51st place worldwide, ranking fifth among Arab teams and sixth in Asia, with 1,461.6 points in the FIFA World Ranking for November released today. Spain retained the top spot, while Argentina held firmly to second place.Following the latest matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the list of teams directly qualifying from UEFA and CONCACAF has now been finalized. Meanwhile, the draws for both the global and European playoffs will take place on Thursday, at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.These draws will determine the final qualification paths for 22 teams, six in the global playoff and sixteen in the European playoff, hoping to secure a place in the first-ever 48-team edition of the 2026 World Cup.A total of 149 matches were played worldwide during this period, including 74 friendlies, with their results significantly reshaping the updated rankings.According to the new FIFA ranking, the Qatar national team back-to-back AFC Asian Cup champions has been placed in Pot 3 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final draw, scheduled to take place on December 5 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.Qatar appears in Pot 3 alongside Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.Qatar recently played a friendly match against Zimbabwe in Doha, falling 2–1, as part of their preparations for the 11th FIFA Arab Cup Qatar, set to kick off in early December. Under Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, Qatar secured qualification for their second consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance this time through the qualifiers after participating as hosts in 2022.At the top of the global rankings, Spain remains No. 1 with 1,877.18 points. The top ten saw only one change, with Italy dropping out. Argentina stayed second with 1,873.33 points, followed by France in third with 1,870 points and England in fourth with 1,834.12 points.Brazil climbed to fifth place with 1,760.46 points, pushing Portugal down to sixth. The Netherlands remained seventh, while Belgium, Germany, and Croatia completed the top ten. Croatia returned to the elite group after replacing Italy, who dropped to 12th.Among Arab teams, Morocco continues to lead, rising to 11th in the world and first in Africa with 1,713.12 points. Senegal followed as 19th worldwide. Egypt dropped to 34th but remained second among Arab teams and third in Africa, while Algeria ranked 35th. Tunisia rose three places to reach 40th globally.Iraq ranked 58th, Saudi Arabia 60th, Jordan 66th, the UAE 67th, Oman 79th, and Syria 87th.On the Asian stage, Japan held the continental lead, climbing to 18th worldwide with 1,650.12 points. Iran followed in 20th, South Korea in 22nd, Australia in 26th, and Uzbekistan in 50th after jumping five places. 

Team Qatar grabs two bronze at Riyadh 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games

Riyadh- Khalid Al Yafei secured the bronze medal in the men’s foil event in fencing, while wrestler Shaheen Mohammad clinched bronze in the 77kg weight category to boost Qatar’s medal tally at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh on Tuesday.Al Yafei claimed bronze after losing his semi-final to Turkey’s Kivanc Kirtay 10–15, while Shaheen earned his medal after a dominant 8–1 victory over Tunisia’s Sami Salama.Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim, President of the Qatar Fencing Federation, expressed his delight at the achievement of fencer Khalid Al Yafai. He said, “The medal won by Khalid is not just the result of a single match, but rather the product of a comprehensive system of work that began years ago. Khalid is a hardworking fencer with a high ability to read the flow of a match and make the right decision at the right moment, and this was clearly demonstrated during his participation in this tournament.”Shaheen began his campaign by beating Turkey’s Younes Basar 4–1 in the quarter-finals before losing the semi-final to Kyrgyz wrestler Akzhol Makhmudov 3–5, which placed him in the bronze-medal match.His teammate Aref Mohammedi finished fourth after losing the 67kg bronze-medal contest to Uzbekistan’s Aytjan Khalkhmakhanov 2–5.Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al Thani, President of the Qatar Boxing and Wrestling Federation, expressed his great happiness with the achievement of Shaheen Mohammed. He said, “Shaheen’s performance was exceptional, and he deservedly earned his place on the podium. He demonstrated his high technical abilities and his capacity to handle pressure throughout the tournament, achieving a feat befitting the advanced level that Qatari wrestling has reached.”In the women’s épée competition, Qatar’s Sheikha Jassim exited in the Round of 16 after losing to Saudi athlete Nada Abed 8–15, while teammate Thikrayat Al Abdullah was eliminated in the Round of 32 after a narrow 14–15 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Dhi Al Amri.Meanwhile, Qatar’s handball team claimed a convincing 44–6 victory over the Maldives in their final group-stage match. With this third consecutive win, Qatar topped Group A with a perfect six points and will face Bahrain, second in Group B, in Wednesday’s semi-finals.In athletics, Qatar’s Abubaker Haydar qualified for the 800m final after winning his heat in 1:50.09. Teammates Ashraf Osman and Hussein Ibrahim were unable to qualify for the 400m final. In men’s shot put, Ahmed Jibril finished fourth with a throw of 18.51m.The Qatar men’s 3x3 basketball team also qualified for the semi-finals after topping Group B, beating Turkiye 21–20 and losing to Iran 15–16. They will face Egypt, who finished second in Group A, on Wednesday.In the women’s competition, the Qatari team concluded their participation after suffering two defeats against Iran and Egypt in the final round of the first stage.