Father Emir, Sheikha Moza attend part of Longines Global Champions Tour

​DOHA, November 11, 2017 - His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser attended yesterday evening part of the second day of the final round of the Longines Global Champions Tour, which is hosted by Al Shaqab.

Qatar Juniors shine in ITF Asian U12 Team Championship

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 11, 2017 – The Qatar junior's tennis team kept their outstanding performance in the ITF Asian U12 Team Championship 2017 by defeating Hong Kong 2-1 in Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday.Qatar squad will shake hands with South Korea counterparts to look for a spot in the final stage.Qatar team consists of players Mishari, Rashid Nawaf, Naser Al Yafe, Mishaal Al Khanji, Adel Ghanem accompanied by the technical staff members and head of the delegation Mr. Ahmed Al Obaidely.The participating teams were distributed into two groups, Qatar team is pooled together with Kazakhstan, Nepal, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong.The prestigious event is bringing together team from both categories (boys and girls) 1. Qatar team opened its campaign in the championship earlier on Tuesday with a convincing 2-1 victory over Bangladesh.

Unbeaten Advani faces Sitwala in quarters

DOHA, November 11, 2017 - Defending champion Pankaj Advani stayed unbeaten in the round robin stages, without dropping a single game, to reach the quarter-finals of the 2017 IBSF World Billiards 150Up Championship as the top seed.On Friday , Advani overcame a resistant rival, in compatriot Brijesh Damani, in the last of his round robin stage matches for a clean record in the tournament.The second game especially was crucial where Damani countered the 32-year-old from the Indian city of Bengaluru with two worthy breaks of 54 and 61 points to score 147. But missing an easy cannon cost Damani dearly, as Advani made the most of the opportunity to walk away with the game and eventually the match.Advani will now face compatriot Dhruv Sitwala in today's quarter-final. Former champions Mike Russell of England and Peter Gilchrist of Singapore, along with Nay Thway of Myanmar too advanced to the quarter-finals with a round of bye in the first stage of the knockouts.Apart from Advani, the remaining six players of the Indian contingent — Dhvaj Haria, Sitwala, Rupesh Shah, Siddharth Parikh, Sourav Kothari and Damani — also had made it to the knockouts, and so did Robert Hall of England and Aung Htay of Myanmar.However, these eight were paired down to four by the end of the first round of knockouts last evening. Parikh knocked out Myanmar's much-experienced Htay 4-2 to set up a clash against Gilchrist.Parikh began in scintillating form with a break of 119, but couldn't finish it, with Htay making full use of the opportunity with two breaks of 96 and 56 to go one up.The Indian then went 3-1 up after stitching together breaks of 92, 67 and 102, before losing the fifth. However, armed with a 90-point break, he booked his spot in the next round.In two of the closest games of the evening, Kothari beat compatriot Damani 4-3, while Rupesh Shah blanked England's Hall in the seventh game to snatch the quarters spot 4-3.While Kothari takes on Russell today, Shah will face Thway in the last eight.In another all-Indian duel, Sitwala beat Haria 4-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with Advani.

Golfers off to Malaysia for Asian Championship

DOHA, November 08, 2017 – Qatar's Golf team delegation left Doha on Tuesday to Malaysia to participate in the 28th version of Asian Golf Championship – Nomura Cup 2017 which will run from 9-12 at Sungai Long Golf Club in Malaysia. The prestigious event is bringing together 102 golfers representing 26 Asian nations to compete in four consecutive rounds.Qatar's Golf delegation is chaired by Mohammed Faisal Al Nuaimi, the Executive Director of Qatar Golf Association (QGA) accompanied by technical staff members and four golfers, Saleh Ali Al Kaabi, Ghanem Mubarak Al Kowari, Abdulrahman Abdallah Al Shahrani and Jaham Jassim Al Kowari.

Top showjumping stars to descend on Al Shaqab for LGCT, GCL finale

DOHA, November 08, 2017 – Al Shaqab foundation and the organizing committee of the prestigious Longines Global Championship Tour (LGCT) will hold a press conference on Wednesday to shine spotlight on the latest preparations for the event.An all-star cast of eight out of the world's top 10 riders are heading to Al Shaqab, Qatar, for this weekend's climax of the 2017 Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) and Global Champions League (GCL) to be held from November 9 to 11.The Doha leg marks the finale of what is an exciting showjumping series contested in the top cities of the world from Mexico City in April to Miami Beach, Shanghai, Madrid, Hamburg, Cannes, Monaco, Paris, Cascais (Estoril), Chantilly, Berlin, London, Valkenswaard (Netherlands), Rome and finally Doha.Among those arriving for Qatar show, which will also see the magnificent Al Shaqab equestrian centre mark its 25th anniversary, include the new LGCT champion Dutch Harrie Smolders (who made history this year by taking the title at the penultimate event in Rome in September), Scott Brash of Britain, Eric Lamaze from Canada, Lorenzo de Luca of Italy, Gregory Wathelet from Belgium, Kevin Staut of France, Peder Fredricson from Sweden and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands.Qatar's challenge will be led by Olympians Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al Thani and Bassem Hassan Mohammed.Other top riders who would be competing in Doha include Simon Delestre (FRA), Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS), Daniel Deusser (GER), Marco Kutscher (GER), Pieter Devos (BEL), Ben Maher (GBR), Bertram Allen (IRL), Laura Kraut (USA), Marlon Zanotelli (BRA) and Lauren Hough (USA). Winners of LGCT Grand Prix this season will also be competing including Mexico City winner Martin Fuchs (SUI), Miami Beach winner Jerome Guery (BEL), Cannes winner Sergio Alvarez Moya (ESP), and Rome winner Evelina Tovek (SWE).There will be a captivating battle for the final overall ranking places after a season of phenomenal LGCT Grand Prix action across the world in stunning locations. With competition reaching new heights this year, the LGCT season has seen nail-biting split second finishes from the best horse and rider combinations who consistently compete at every event.Talking about the top calibre events, Scott Brash said,"The level of competition on the GCT circuit is so high, so to win a Grand Prix or League class you and your horse have to be at the absolute top of your game."Italian Lorenzo de Luca said he will be"giving everything" to keep his second place in the overall LGCT championship ranking."GCT is one of the best and most difficult circuits in the world."Champion Smolders said,"In the Global Champions Tour the level is very, very high because we have the best horses and the best riders in the world. A higher level is not possible."Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) currently sits in second with 260 points overall, with Christian Ahlmann (GER) just three points away on 257. Alberto Zorzi (ITA) is only a two-point whisker away on 255 points. Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) and two-time LGCT Champion Scott Brash (GBR), on 247 and 245 points respectively, will be formidable opponents in the final deciding LGCT Grand Prix of 2017.In the GCL race to finish, teams are tactically fielding heavy-weight combinations for the final push for the overall ranking and season prize-money. Hamburg Diamonds and Valkenswaard United lock horns for the final time in 2017 after their intensive duel for the title crown saw them pull ahead of the pack on points. Other teams including Miami Glory, Paris Panthers, Mexico Amigos, St Tropez Pirates, London Knights, Doha Fursan Qatar, Rome Gladiators and Shanghai Swans will be jostling for an overall GCL Top 10 finish.President of Longines, Walter von Kanel, said,"We are pleased to be back at the magnificent Al Shaqab Equestrian Centre which will once again provide the perfect backdrop for this much-awaited final of the series. Our brand also looks forward to the weekend's highlight, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha, to which we lend our name."The finals will play out on the grand stage of Al Shaqab, a member of the Qatar Foundation, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary and the three day event from will hold something for all especially families with a kids entertainment area, Arabian displays and a special show to celebrate the silver jubilee.

Qatar to host World Billiards and Snooker

DOHA, November 09, 2017 - Qatar will host both the billiards and snooker events at the IBSF World Championships in November.The billiards tournament (150-up and long-up formats) will be held from November 9 to 15 and the snooker tournament from November 17 to 25. The back-to-back tournaments are a departure from the past when they were separated by at least two weeks. The events will pose a challenge to India's 16-time world champion in billiards and snooker, Pankaj Advani.“I've never entered back-to-back snooker and billiards events at a World Championship before. I've done it at the Senior Nationals, but this is quite different. It is going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it," Advani was quoted as saying in The Hindu newspaper. Meanwhile, his official app was also launched on Friday. “The app will welcome fans into my world. Apart from match and tournament details, users will get to know me better — the music I like, travel tips, etc. We will also hold contests for fans," Advani added.