Abdel Gawad beats home favourite al-Tamimi

Doha: Egypt’s former World No 1 Karim   beat Qatari No 1 Abdulla al-Tamimi 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7 to book his spot in the quarter-finals of the QTerminals Qatar Classic. Gawad, the 2016 Qatar Classic champion, was in fine form at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex as he took the opening game, but al-Tamimi grew into the match in the second to draw level, much to delight of the home crowd. However, Gawad was quickly able to get back on top in the third and took the next two games without reply to earn his last eight spot. “The Qatari audience is very aware of good shots,” Gawad said after the match. “Abdulla was on fire today and he can hit winners out of nowhere, so it was hard to read him today. Thanks to the Qatari crowd who supported him but also cheered for my good shots. It will be a hard match, Mostafa is in good form and won the last two tournaments. I’m playing better squash now too and I’m moving better on court, so I’m looking forward to it.” Gawad will play World No 2 Mostafa Asal next, with Asal making it 12 wins in a row after getting the better of World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria earlier in the day. Asal won 11-6, 11-7, 11-3. In Women’s event, United States’ No 1 Olivia Weaver scored a 3-0 win over World No 15 Fayrouz Aboelkheir to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic for the first time. Weaver won 11-5, 11-0, 14-12 (31m). “You never know what’s going to happen on a squash court,” said Weaver. “You have to prepare for everything, but I knew the game plan I wanted to execute. She’s coming off an amazing week in Paris and she is extremely talented. I felt confident that I could take away some of her weapons and I’m pleased to get through that in three.” Belgium’s World No 5 Nele Coll earned her spot in the quarter-finals after a routine win over Wales’ Emily Whitlock. Coll won 11-4, 11-3, 11-6. In other matches on Wednesday, 17-year-old Amina Orfi reached the quarter-finals for the first time after beating England’s World No.20 Lucy Turmel 11-4, 11-4, 14-12 while World No.2 Nouran Gohar made it five wins in a row against fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas to earn her place in the last eight. Gohar won 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 win after 35 minutes.

ITTF Delegation to Inspect 2025 WTT Finals Facilities on Thursday

DOHA  - A delegation of the International Table Tennis Federation's (ITTF) Inspection Committee will begin Thursday its inspection tour of the facilities hosting the ITTF World Table Tennis (WTT) finals Doha 2025, scheduled for mid 2025 at Lusail Sports Arena. The delegation's two-day tour will include visits to Qatar University, Qatar Women's Sports Committee, Aspetar Hospital, Aspire Academy, and Lusail Sports Arena. The contract for the medical conference scheduled to be organized within the WTT championship is expected to be signed with Aspetar on the sidelines of the visit, in addition to a cooperation protocol between the Asian Federation and the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence. President of the Qatar Table Tennis Federation Khalil Al-Mohannadi confirmed that Doha will present a historic and exceptional edition of the WTT finals next year, in light of Qatar's great capabilities. He said that Qatar's hosting of this global event for the second time reflects Qatar's commitment to contributing to the development of table tennis worldwide. Al Mohannadi pointed to the accumulation of experience among the Qatari administrative cadres who are distinguished by professionalism and the ability to successfully host major events. The ITTF General Assembly meeting will be held during Doha 2025 event. The meeting will see the election of the ITTF President for the next 4 years. Qatar had won the honor of hosting the WTT finals during the vote held on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting in Amman in December 2022, after winning 57 votes against 39 votes for the Spanish city of Alicante. This is the second time for Qatar to host the championship, and it is the only Arab country in the Middle East to have this honor after successfully hosting the 2004 edition.  

Doha Diamond League scheduled for May 16th, 2025

DOHA – Doha  will host the third leg of the 2025 Diamond League series at the Qatar Sports Club on May 16th (Friday), the organisers announced on Wednesday. As in previous years, the Diamond League will see the world’s biggest stars compete across four different continents at 14 of the sport’s most prestigious one-day meetings, with the most successful qualifying for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on August 27-28. The series will begin in Xiamen, China on April 26, in a season in which it faces a challenge from a lucrative new US format. Diamond League organisers have already raised the prize money on offer for next season, partly in response to the purses announced by the four-meeting Grand Slam Track series backed by Olympic legend Michael Johnson. Johnson has promised to bring together “the best of the best” in head-to-head clashes and Grand Slam Track has already signed up a number of champions from the Paris Olympics including women’s 400m hurdles winner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The 15-meeting Diamond League has increased its prize money to $9.24mn in 2025, while Grand Slam Track says it will have a prize fund of $12.6mn.  

QOC hosts Awareness Workshop on "Early Detection Saves Lives"

DOHA – The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), organized a one-day awareness workshop titled "Early Detection Saves Lives." The event was attended by QOC's female staff and representatives from the Qatar Cancer Society at the QOC Building on Tuesday. A professional medical team from HMC led the workshop, featuring Dr. Noora Al-Kaabi, Head of the Preventive Medicine Division; Dr. Sarah Naja, Preventive Medicine Specialist; Dr. Nada Adli, Preventive Medicine Physician; Dr. Mashael Al-Sallama, Family Medicine Physician; Ms. Haya Al-Kaabi, Preventive Medicine Patient Educator; Ms. Zainab Tayyem, Senior Clinical Dietitian; and Ms. Najoua Hassini, Nurse. The workshop addressed four key topics: raising awareness of the importance of early detection and its crucial role in enhancing recovery chances, encouraging participants to take practical steps for disease prevention, and sharing inspiring success stories that highlight how to overcome cancer. This workshop was organized in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, centered on the theme "Early Detection Saves Lives."

Defending champs Farag, El Hammamy march on

Doha- Defending men’s champion from Egypt Ali Farag on Tuesday rallied in fine fashion to beat Youssef Soliman on day two of the QTerminals Qatar Classic on Tuesday. World No 1 Farag had a strong record against Soliman, with only one previous defeat in eight matches. However, Soliman on Tuesday played exceptionally well and won the first game but Farag rallied quickly. Farag won 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4. “It takes so many things (to beat Soliman),” said Farag after his win on Tuesday. “It was a really tactical battle. He’s really smart and when I watched him yesterday in the fifth game he was out of breath but still found a way to win. I watched him against Diego (Elias) in Paris and I think this is the best he is playing in his career so far. “He’s been challenging the top guys for a very long time, but I feel he is getting closer in every match and it was getting a bit nerve-racking. Thankfully, I had (Karim) Darwish in my corner and he told me to tweak a few things, but it’s credit to Youssef because he didn’t give me the opportunity to play my own game plan.” Reigning women’s champion Hania El Hammamy also advanced in the tournament with a decisive 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 victory over wildcard Salma Eltayeb. The World No 3 dominated the match, consistently applying pressure on her opponent. Eltayeb struggled to keep up with El Hammamy’s relentless pace, and the second game quickly followed the same pattern. “I’m not that familiar with her game, we’ve played a couple of times in training, but it’s different in a match and real tournaments,” said El Hammamy on Tuesday. “It was a bit tricky not knowing what to expect. She’s very attacking and very powerful, so I had to be alert and ready for her shots. I’m glad I got through in three. “I played better today (compared to the first round against Satomi Watanabe). I got more used to the court and started to find my length a bit better. There is only one way forward, I guess. “Every time I’ve been the defending champion I’ve not done well and I haven’t won the title. Now, I’m more experienced and I know how to deal with the pressure of being the defending champion. I need to improve my performance each round, and if it’s meant to be, it will happen.” World No 1 Nour El Sherbini winsWorld No 1 Nour El Sherbini stayed on course to win a third PSA Squash Tour title on the bounce after she completed a dominant 3-0 win over fellow Egyptian Sana Ibrahim. El Sherbini won 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 in 29 minutes. Despite two previous final appearances in Doha, the Qatar Classic trophy is the only major title that currently eludes El Sherbini. Veteran Momen advancesEgyptian veteran Tarek Momen on Tuesday booked his place in the quarter-finals of this year’s QTerminals Qatar Classic after halting dangerous Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais in straight games. The 36-year-old from Cairo – making his 16th appearance at the Qatar Classic – made the most of his racket skills in the opening game and won 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (50 minutes). “Some of his retrievals were insane,” Momen said. “I think I did a pretty good job with the attacking side of things, but he was onto it. I couldn’t believe some of the shots he got back, he put a lot of pressure on me and I’m happy I managed to close it out. “ I don’t think about the numbers (his longevity) I just try to take care of my body the best way I can. I don’t know how many chances I have left, so any opportunity I get to play on this court I have to take it. I am blessed that I am still playing at this level, and I’m very proud. “I want to keep going and fighting for every match I play for as long as I can. “I’ve added a few layers to my game, I’ve slowed things down, I still play at a fast pace, but I’m better at slowing the pace down when I need to. I spend more time off court doing mobility and recovery work too. “It’s all part of the process, you grow older and you need to do a few things differently.”

Qatar claims a bronze medal at 2024 Arab Golf Championship

Tunisia: Qatar's Daniil Sokolov claimed the bronze medal of Juniors event at the 2024 Arab Junior Golf Championship which was concluded in Gammarth, Tunisia last Thursday. Sokolov took the third place behind Egypt’s Alaaedin Salama and Jordan’s Mohammed Al Rawashda. 121 golfers representing 11 Arab countries took part in the championship, including Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, UAE, Iraq and Hosts Tunisia. The state of Qatar was represented by Rashid Al Mansouri, Kamil bin Ruqiya, Daniel Sokolov and Nada Radwan.