Qatar Handball Association to host a friendly tournament

DOHA, October 30, 2017-The Qatar Handball Association (QHA) will host a friendly tournament in January 2018 with participation of Oman, Algeria, Iran and hosts Qatar. The tournament comes in light of the preparation for the 18th Asian Handball Championship to be staged in South Korea in January 2018. The event will serve as a qualification tournament for the 2019 IHF World Handball Championship. The Spanish head coach of Qatar's national team Valero Rivera selected 20 players to join the training sessions including Belal Fatnasi, Mustafa Al Karad. Abdullah Al Karbi, Rashid Youssef, Zainadin Bu Menjel, Anis Zouaoui, Abdulrazzaq Murad, Rafael Capte, Abdulrahman Tariq, Danijel Saric, Ahmad Madadi, Wajdi Sinen, Feras Al Shayeb, Ali Hamad, Belal Lebeinka, Mohammad Saeed, Mustafa Amir, Marawan Sasi, Hadi Hamdoun and Hossam Romman. As per the draw held recently, Qatar will play in group (D) alongside Saudi Arabia, China and New Zealand.

Second Hathab leg begins on Friday

DOHA, October 28, 2017-Mohammed Taleb al Saaq on his mount Diamond Dilemma came up trumps in style as he beat a strong field of 26 top national riders to win the Open Class event of the 2nd Hathab Equestrian Tour 2017/2018 at the indoor facility of Al Shaqab equestrian centre on Friday.Mohammed riding for Qatar Armed Forces rode the gelding bay elegantly in the One Round Against the Clock Art. 238.2.1 (115/125cm) event registering no faults. He needed only 68.56secs to complete the routine and fetch the top prize of QR3,750.A delighted Mohammed Taleb al Saaq commenting on his win said,"Hathab is a great national competition which is helping us prepare for international championships and I'm honoured to have finished first today."The competition was strong with 26 talented riders giving their best. It was tough, but I was lucky to have made it with the support of my team," he added.Mohammed finished much ahead of runner-up Saeed Nasser al Qadi of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF), who finished in 71.83secs. He won QR3,000.Hamad Nasser al Qadi, who had won the Big Tour event in the first competition of the 12-leg Hathab series, had to settle for the third place this time.The QEF rider this time rode bay stallion What A Pleasure and finished with zero faults in 73.12secs to claim the prize of QR2,250.Hamad, however, wasn't disappointed and said he is gearing up for the second day's competition on Saturday. "I'm thrilled and excited as we will be competing for the grand prize. The competitions are strong and I'm glad to have to finished in the top three," he said.Earlier in the Small Tour category, QEF's Mohammed Khalid al Qashouti emerged best in the Table A, Special Two Phases, Art.274.5.6 (110/115cm) event.He rode bay Goldan and galloped past all obstacles with ease ensuring no faults in 40.51secs and was rewarded QR2,500 for the effort.Coming a close second was Hamad Nasser al Qadi on Belucci Van'T Vleminkhof in 41.30secs. He won QR2,000.The 3rd place went to Ghanim al Qadi, also of QEF. Astride on Fudine, finished in 41.97secs with no faults and his effort saw him collect a prize of QR1,500.More than six women competitors took part in the Small Tour competition.

Qatar ready for FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2017

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, October 28, 2017-Qatar's Basketball Team will begin their campaign in the 2017 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup on Saturday, as they will take on Australia and New Zealand in Group (B) competitions. The event brings together 12 teams. The Qatari team claimed the title of the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championships. Since then the team has changed. In fact, none of the players at the Asia Cup was on that 2014 golden team. However, with the dragster Abdulrahman Saad and the physical Tanguy Ngombo, Qatar look like the team to beat in Mongolia. They also prepare the future with former U18 world champions Seydou Ndoye and Nedim Muslic.

Qatar Classic to begin on Sunday

DOHA, October 28, 2017-The 2017 edition of Qatar Classic begins on Sunday (October 29) at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha with top players on the men's tour taking part in the second World Series event of the season.Tournament top seed and World No.1 Gregory Gaultier will begin his campaign against Mexico's Cesar Salazar who recently won the Chicago Open. This will be the Frenchman's first appearance of the 2017/18 season after suffering an ankle injury which forced him to withdraw from both the NetSuite Open and US Open.Gaultier could face two-time Qatar Classic champion Mohamed El Shorbagy in the semi-finals of the tournament should both prevail through their respective fixtures. The Egyptian, former World No.1, has had a strong start to the season, which has seen him claim titles at the NetSuite Open and Channel VAS at St George's Hill and a runner-up finish at the US Open. El Shorbagy will start his defence against a qualifier in round one.US Open champion and current leader on the World Series Standings, Ali Farag, will look to continue his purple patch as he also opens against a qualifier in round one.Elsewhere, defending champion, Karim Abdel Gawad who beat El Shorbagy 3-0 in the 2016 final opens against Spain's Borja Golan on Sunday.Also in the bottom half of the draw, three-time World Champion Nick Matthew who beat Egypt's Karim Darwish in the 2009 Qatar Classic final will start his run against a qualifier in round one.Tournament wildcard and home hope Abdulla Mohd al Tamimi will be looking to start strong in front of his home crowd as he comes up against Egypt's Fares Dessouky in the opening round.Other strong contenders in the draw include England's former World No.1 James Willstrop, who last won the tournament in 2005. The Yorkshireman faces a tough ask in round one as he takes on Peru's Diego Elias, who has been one to watch on the men's tour so far this season defeating England's Matthew at the NetSuite Open and Marwan ElShorbagy at the US Open. Marwan El Shorbagy, younger brother of Mohamed will begin his tournament against New Zealand's World No.10 Paul Coll of New Zealand.Qatar Classic marks the second World Series event of the season for the men's tour and presents another chance for players to earn points for the World Series Standings as they bid to qualify for the season-ending PSA World Series Finals with only the top eight players on the men's standings earning a coveted berth at the lucrative tournament.

Qatar Futsal Team off to Thailand

DOHA, October 28, 2017 – Qatar's national futsal team headed to Thailand on Friday in preparation for the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship qualifiers to begin in Thailand in November 08.The Squad; Saad Al Shahwani, Hazim Salim, Hadi Al Beraidi, Mohammad Al Hababi, Arhama Al Kuwari, Saeed Al Boloushi, Abdulrahman Qahtan, Amro Taha, Rashid Al Kebaisi, Eisa Al Masoudi, Mohammad Ali Mana, Ahmad Khalil, Talal Al Naimi, Saleh Al Shamiya, Mohammad Mounir and Abdulaziz Shehab.The Team Manager Abdullah Al Mansouri said “The Qatari national team will play a number of friendly matches with some clubs in the Thai league"“Our players are able to qualify to the finals," he added.

Al Sadd, Qatar SC to participate in Arab Club Table Tennis Championships

DOHA, October 28, 2017-Qatar's Al Sadd and Qatar Sports Club will participate in the 2017 Arab Club Table Tennis Championships to begin on November 08 in Lebanon.The men's competitions will feature the participation of Army (Iraq), Brighty (Iraq), Sports Complex (Palestine), Sinjel Sports Club (Palestine), Army (Lebanon), Fadi Akdas (Lebanon), South Toll (Lebanon), Seeb (Oman), Al Maadغ (Egypt), Sports Association (Algeria), Sana (Yemen), Al Shaban (Sudan), Al Sadd (Qatar) and Qatar SC (Qatar).Eight more teams will participate in Women's competitions.On the sidelines of the event, the general assembly meeting of the Arab Table Tennis Federation will be held on November 11.