Qatar's Ahmed & Julio zoom into quarters of Qinzhou Open

QINZHO, China, October 14, 2017- Qatar's beach volleyball team comprising Julio Cesar do Nascimento Junior and Ahmed Tijan came up with a superb display of their combined effort defeating the Serbian pair in straight sets on Friday to make the quarter-finals of Qinzhou Open (a part of the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour) on Friday.In what was a thrilling 16-minute encounter in windy conditions, the Qatar duo worked their way with force and guile to upstage the Serbian duo of Djordje Klasnic and Lazar Kolaric 21-14, 15-21, 15-7. The Qatar players were delighted with their effort."It was a good game despite very strong winds. We fought hard and we are happy to have won," said Ahmed soon after the match.Senior partner Julio said the two are now producing better results thanks to their understanding."This is our second season together. Now, he's (Ahmed) much better than we got together. The balance between us is almost perfect. We have more power and more experience together now. Hopefully we will do better ahead as well," he said.The result, however, wasn't so fruitful for Qatar's more seasoned pair of Cherif Younousse and Jefferson Pereira, who went down fighting 18-21, 12-21 against Russia's Maxim Sivolap and Igor Velichko in the men's top 16 clash.On Saturday, Ahmed and Julio will face strong contenders Cuba in the quarter-finals. The Qatar pair is however confident riding on their recent triumph at the Grand Front Osaka Open in Japan last week. The Qatar team is world ranked 12th after the A team qualified for the round of 16 in the recent world championship in Austria. Dutch qualifiers upset China to make top eight Earlier, Dutch qualifiers Dirk Boehle and Steven Van de Velde upset eighth seeds Li Zhuoxin and Zhou Chaowei of China in straight sets to make the last eight stage.Boehle/van de Velde beat Li/Zhou in front of hundreds of home fans 2-0 (21-10, 21-18) for their third win in a row at the single elimination tournament. The Chinese duo stayed within 15-14 in the second set, but Boehle/van de Velde ran off three unanswered points and went on to wrap up the match in 29 minutes."We went all the way from the qualification to the quarterfinals, it feels great," said Boehle. "At the beginning we started pretty strong," van de Velde added."We had some trouble with the wind, but as well with the opponents. Our tactics worked very well in the first set. In the second, they started better and we had issues adapting. In the middle of the second set, we found a way and we worked through it."Belgian duo on course Meanwhile, top seeds Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle of Belgium outlasted Australia's Cole Durant and Zachery Schubert 2-1 (24-22, 20-22, 15-9) to march towards their first medal at a FIVB World Tour event.The first two sets were hotly contested. Koekelkoren/van Walle withstood three set points to claim the opener while Durant/Schubert rallied from 20-19 down to level one set back. In the tie-breaker, the Belgians jumped to a 7-3 lead and never looked back. "We kept fighting the whole game," said Koekelkoren. "The wind was very hard today, and that's the most important thing to handle. If you can play good with the wind, then you can win games. But it's hard, because you have to work really hard to play compact. Actually, the team that made less mistakes won the game. In the second set, we made too many mistakes, then we just tried to avoid the mistakes, and we won the tie-breaker."Koekelkoren and van Walle were expecting to reach the podium for the first time at a FIVB World Tour event. "There are some very good teams here. Cuba, Qatar are really good teams. We just want to play match by match and our goal is to reach the podium. We really want a medal! We want to get our first FIVB medal." Third seeds Nadir Diaz Gomez Nivaldo and Bayard Sergio Reynaldo Gonzalez of Cuba and fourth seeds Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros from Mexico both cruised into the quarterfinals.

Stage set for traditional boat race and Qatar Jet Ski C’ship

DOHA, October 14, 2017 – Water sports fans and pioneers are looking eagerly to enjoy the competitions of both the second round of Qatar Traditional Boat race (Al Shawaheef) and the third round of Qatar Jet Ski Championship which shall get underway on Saturday.The prestigious events will bring together elite teams and competitors from all Qatar who will compete in several classes in both events.According to the Organizers, the technical examination measures over Jet Ski will be conducted at 7 am, followed by the official competitions.

Doha all set to host Soccerex Asian Forum 2016

DOHA, October 14, 2017 - Doha has completed all technical and managerial arrangements to host the prestigious Soccerex Asian Forum 2016, taking place at the Grand Hyatt Doha from 5-6 December, 2016.The forum will provide the global football industry with unique insight, and access to the key development projects ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.With more than 30 large scale infrastructure and stadia related tenders currently open ahead of this groundbreaking tournament, the Asian Forum - supported by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy - will allow delegates to hear from, and connect with, the decision makers directly responsible for their fulfilment.Soccerex, the globally renowned football business event provider, has signed its first partnership agreement with Aspire Zone Foundation and its member organizations, Aspire Academy, Aspetar and Aspire Logistics, for the upcoming Asian Forum taking place in Doha from December 5-6.The Asian Forum will offer insights into topics such as major event delivery, player performance and development and sports marketing from the football industry's most senior figures. The Forum, taking place at the Grand Hyatt Doha, will gather over 1000 senior decision makers for two days of knowledge sharing, and business networking.

First leg of Hathab equestrian series from today

DOHA, October 13, 2017-The first leg of the Hathab Equestrian Tour series will be held today and tomorrow at the Al Shaqab arena. The vet check for horses was held yesterday, followed by a technical meeting for the riders. Today, the action will begin at 2pm, and tomorrow at 9 in the morning and at 2 in the afternoon.A brainchild of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, the 12-leg series is open for Qatari nationals and also to residents of Qatar. The event is being conducted jointly by Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) and Al Shaqab.Results of the competition will be used in the selection process of riders to represent Qatar in future international competitions. Each leg will carry points, with only top seven results to be counted, and an overall will be declared at the end of series.Around 150 riders, from as young as six, will be in action and has free admission for spectators. The events will be held in both show jumping and dressage and will consist of five categories: Future Riders Program (6-12 years old), Children (12-14 years old); Junior (Small Tour 14-18 years old), Young Rider (Medium Tour 16-21 years old) and Senior (Big Tour- over 21-year-old). There will be a total of 12 competitions in the series which will be held either at Al Shaqab or Qatar Equestrian Federation premises. Seven events will be held at Al Shaqab and five at QEF's Outdoor Arena.The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) rules and regulations will be followed and all competitions will be shown live on Al Kass channel. 'Hathab', which means 'Canter' in Arabic aims to improve the standard of horse riding among Qatari youths, while also encouraging the involvement of private stables and individual horse owners to grow awareness of horsemanship as part of Qatar's history and tradition.The series, to be held either at Al Shaqab or Qatar Equestrian Federation's outdoor arena, will be spread across seven months with the final leg to be conducted next April. A total of QR1mn in prize money will be on offer for the competitors.

SC, Italian delegation discuss 2022 World Cup ties

DOHA, October 13, 2017-An Italian delegation visited the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) headquarters including Italy's Ambassador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano and CEO of Leonardo company Alessandro Profumo. The meeting discussed means of strengthening the continuous ties for Qatar to host World Cup 2022.Leonardo is a leading provider of video-surveillance, access control, anti-intrusion, public information, telecommunications and automations systems for proposed 2022 FIFA World Cup venue, Al Bayt Stadium a project led by Main Contractors Salini Impregilo and Galfar Misnad.SC Deputy Executive Director of Security Maj. Ali Mohamed al Ali, welcomed the delegation and provided an exclusive insight into the 2022 FIFA World Cup plans and legacy commitments."Leonardo are world leaders in the high-technology field of security, and our continued collaboration, alongside main contractors Galfar Misnad and Salini Impregilo on the Al Bayt Stadium project highlights our commitment to providing the best possible stadiums, facilities and fan experience in 2022.""Work at Al Bayt Stadium is progressing rapidly, and the venue is progressing into what we are certain will be one of the 2022 FIFA World Cups most iconic venues, providing fans with a defining image of Arab culture, hospitality and history. We look forward to continuing this relationship with Leonardo, Salini Impregilo and all our key stakeholders as we work together to deliver an amazing FIFA World Cup," he added.Following the visit Profumo said the meeting provided the perfect opportunity to further cement Leonardo's strong relationship with the country, and establish a firm basis for continued collaborations and knowledge transfer between the SC and Leonardo to 2022, and beyond. "As a global partner for the countrys future challenges, we can contribute to the SC's effort in delivering the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will involve people from all around the world, and sharing with Qatar our experience in the field of security and safety," Profumo added.During the meeting, Leonardo illustrated the opportunities offered by its broader capabilities in Critical Infrastructures Protection and how these can be further enhanced to serve the FIFA World Cup, allowing the SC to maximise synergies and interoperability of different plants.The company has established a reputation for successfully supporting international major events, including the 2015 Expo in Milan, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and for a number of other high-profile occasions.

Jefferson & Cherif qualify to last 16 at Qinzhou Open

Qinzhou, October 13, 2017-Qatar's beach volleyball stars and second seeds Pereira Jefferson Santos and Cherif Younousse joined Koekelkoren/Walle in the men's top 16 after ousting Austria's Florian Schnetzer and Daniel Mullner 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Qinzhou Open .The Qatar B team of Julio Cesar and Tijan Ahmed also made it through after straight sets victory over Japanese duo Shimizu and Tsichiya.A few days ago, Qatar 2 team won the Grand Front Osaka Open in beach volleyball, which was held in Japan over four days. The Qatari duo of Ahmed Tijan and Julio Cesar won the title after beating Indonesia 2-0 (21-15 and 21-19).Qatar's beach volleyball team are 12th in the world ranking after the A team qualified for the round of 16 in the recent world championship in Austria and lost to the host nation. The A team, comprising Younousse and Jefferson Pereira, played strong and competitive matches during the tournament and managed 480 points.Top seeds Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle of Belgium held off Americans Edwin Burik Mark and William Kolinske 32-30 in the first set on the way to a 2-0 victory.Koekelkoren/Walle squandered a five-point lead before clinching the opening set in the first round of the single elimination tournament."(We survived) by fighting hard and working hard," said van Walle."I think we started well, but then at 16-11 we made some mistakes and they made some good blocks, and then we brought ourselves into trouble. You see those guys can also play very well and we made our lives difficult. But in the end, we were able to get it done as a team."The hot weather in Qinzhou was also quite a challenge for the Belgians."I think we were trying to play aggressively, with good mentality and fighting spirit. But with this heat, it's really hard to keep the level of aggressivity high. It's a pity about the late part in the first set, but we stayed tough and won the first set. If we have to play three sets in these circumstances, it will be really hard."