Team Qatar beat Jordan in AFC U20 Asian Cup

DOHA - Qatar emerged the Group J winners of the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 Qualifiers after a thrilling 3-2 win over Jordan on Sunday. The result meant Qatar finished with a perfect nine points while Jordan, despite the defeat, also advanced to the Finals as one of the best five second-placed teams. Hong Kong, China finished third after a 2-0 win over Singapore. With both teams tied on six points and Jordan - thanks to a superior goal difference - only needing a draw, the stage was set for a thriller at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Qatar got off to a dream start, taking the lead in the fifth minute through Mohamed Khaled Gouda. Jordan, however, responded by upping their tempo and their hard work paid off in the 39th minute with Odeh Burhan Fakhoury drawing them level. Needing victory to be absolutely sure of advancing, Qatar started the second half in aggressive mode and were rewarded in the 51st minute through Bassam Adel Eid’s strike. Captain Ibrahim Mohammadali made it 3-1 five minutes later but an own goal from Eid in the 69th minute made it nervy for Qatar. The hosts, however, defended resolutely in the remaining minutes to see out the win. Only pride was at stake for both teams after having suffered losses to Jordan and Qatar and it was Hong Kong, China who showed more desire with defender Anthony Pinto opening the scoring in the 26th minute. Forward Ho Tung Lam struck their second three minutes into the second half as Singapore’s hopes of a comeback were dashed.  

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.

Farag, Al-Tamimi reach second round in Doha

Doha: Ali Farag, the reigning men’s champion, on Monday overcame a challenging opening match against Egyptian compatriot Youssef Ibrahim on day one of the QTerminals Qatar Classic. Despite a close first game, Farag ultimately won 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex where Qatar’s number one player Abdulla al-Tamimi delighted home fans by beating Englishman Adrian Waller. Farag, the World No 1 maintained control throughout the match, setting the pace and leaving Ibrahim struggling. In the third game, Ibrahim’s frustration boiled over after a questionable call, allowing Farag to capitalize and secure the victory. “Youssef is one heck of a player, he’s got everything you need, he is explosive and so skillful with the racket,” Farag said on Monday. “When I play with his generation at a fast pace, they absolutely dominate me. I had to be very smart with the way I approached the match today. Youssef has been struggling with injuries for the past year or so and he rolled his ankle at the Egyptian Open. It’s his first match back, so I knew he wouldn’t be that confident with his movement. I really wish him well in his recovery because we need him on tour. He’s so exciting and we don’t have anyone like him.” Al-Tamimi, with the home crowd supporting the 29-year-old, dropped the second set but eventually won 11-9, 11-13, 11-2, 12-10 in 54 minutes on the Centre Court. Tomorrow al-Tamimi will take on Egypt’s Karim Gawad who on Monday beat France’s Baptiste Masotti 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 in just 26 minutes. In other matches in the men’s draw, No 5 seed Mazen Hesham faced a tough challenge from Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng. Hesham won 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6 (57m). Youssef Soliman also fought hard, defeating Aly Abou Eleinen in a 3-2 victory. Soliman will now face the defending champion Farag in the second round. Former World Champion Tarek Momen, a previous winner in Doha, on Monday secured a hard-fought victory over World No 10 Marwan ElShorbagy in what was often a scrappy affair. Momen, drawing on his extensive experience, managed to outlast the determined Englishman. Momen won 12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9. Momen will now face France’s Sebastien Bonmalais, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals. “I’m definitely proud of myself for pushing through today because there were so many things that were going on that were just so hard to deal with,” Momen said after the match. Turmel stuns ElarabyThe biggest upset on Monday came from England’s Lucy Turmel. Despite being down two games, Turmel staged a remarkable comeback, defeating No 8 seed Rowan Elaraby in women’s draw. Turmel, who recently re-entered the top 20 of the PSA Women’s World Rankings, secured a hard-fought victory with scores of 8-11, 2-11, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10. This win takes Turmel into the second round of the tournament. Turmel will play Egypt’s Amina Orfi – who on Monday became the second youngest female player to reach the top 10 – in the next round, with Orfi defeating Farida Mohamed 13-15, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9. “I was getting chopped really in the first two (games),” said Turmel afterwards. “It was one of those where I said to myself that it can only get better. Going into the third, I just wanted to try and get back into the match and give a bit of a better account of myself and fight. After the third, I just felt like the match restarted and then the last two were obviously tightly contested, but I just showed a lot of a lot of grit and fight at the end there. “It was a goal of mine to get back into the top 20, and to do it after the first two tournaments is great,” she added.

Q-Terminals Qatar Classic to begin on Monday

Doha: The 21st edition of the Q-Terminals Qatar Classic will begin in Doha on Monday, with 64 of the world’s best players looking to come away victorious from the second Platinum event of the 2024/25 PSA Squash Tour season. The event will take place between September 30 – October 5 and will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, with action available to watch live on SQUASHTV. Day one of action will be split across an all-glass court and three side courts in Doha, with play getting underway at 12:00 (GMT+3). This year will once again see both a men’s and women’s taking place, with reigning champions Ali Farag and Hania El Hammamy returning in an attempt to defend their titles. Farag, the men’s top seed and three-time winner of the Qatar Classic, will be looking to bounce back from defeats in the finals of the Egyptian Open and Paris Squash to Mostafa Asal. The World No.1 starts his campaign against the dangerous Youssef Ibrahim. Behind Farag in the seedings lie Paul Coll, Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias – all of whom were multiple event winners on the PSA Tour last season. Asal has started the new campaign in scintillating form, capturing back-to-back titles, and now sits within almost 500 points of Farag at the top of the men’s world rankings. Coll and Elias, meanwhile, will be looking for revenge against Asal and Farag, respectively, after being edged out in tense semi-final matches at Paris Squash last week. In particular, Elias will likely arrive in Qatar quietly confident of a strong run after delivering potentially his best week of squash since winning the PSA World Championships earlier this year. The men’s event will also see a number of heavyweight first-round matches, with World No.3 Coll facing World No.9 Joel Makin, and World No.7 Tarek Momen taking on World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy. Other dangers to the top four seeds include the likes of Mazen Hesham, Karim Abdel Gawad and Mohamed ElShorbagy. In the women’s draw, World No.1 Nour El Sherbini will be the player to beat, after recording ten straight victories to start off the 2024/25 campaign. ‘The Warrior Princess’, who was defeated by El Hammamy in the Qatar Classic final last year, has clinched title victories over fierce rival Nouran Gohar in the first two finals of the season, and will look to continue this form when she begins her tournament against Sarah-Jane Perry. Defending champion El Hammamy sits in the same half of the draw as El Sherbini and could prove a potential semi-final opponent if the event were to go to seeding. The 24-year-old will be looking to return to the winner’s circle after nine months without a title on the PSA Squash Tour. El Hammamy will get her campaign underway against Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe. World No.2 Nouran Gohar will be another major title contender in the women’s event and be hoping a strong performance in Qatar will help to close the gap to El Sherbini in the World Rankings. ‘The Terminator’ is the highest-seeded player in the bottom half of the draw, with the likes of No.8 seed Rowan Elaraby, No.5 seed Olivia Weaver and No.4 seed Nele Coll potential opponents in the latter stages of the event. The Qatar Q-Terminals Classic will witness fierce competition among the remaining top eight seeds, including Belgian sisters Nele Coll and Tinne Gilis, Georgina Kennedy, Olivia Weaver, and Rowan Elaraby. Exciting matchups are expected throughout the draw, with the returning Lisa Aitken facing Gilis, and rising star Amina Orfi facing Farida Mohamed in Round One. Home hopes will hang on Qatari duo Abdulla Al-Tamimi and Wildcard Salem Al-Malki, who will both be taking part in the men’s event. World No.19 Al-Tamimi will start his tournament against Adrian Waller, while Al-Malki takes on Sebastian Bonmalais.  

Team Qatar signs off with silver medal at Asian Shotgun Cup 2024

ALMATY - Qatar’s Rashid Saleh Al Athba and Reem Al Sharshani settled for a silver medal after going down to Kazakhstan’s Eduard Yechshenko and Assem Orynbay in the mixed team skeet gold medal showdown on the final day of the Asian Shotgun Cup 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Monday. Qatar finished fourth in the final medal standings with two silver and five bronze medals, while hosts Kazakhstan finished on top with 14 medals.  Kuwait finished second with 10 medals, while China came third, winning two gold medals.

Qatar defeat Hong Kong in AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers

Doha: Hosts Qatar and Jordan are ready for a top-of-the-table clash after both teams registered their second wins in Group J of the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 Qualifiers on Friday. Jordan will head into Sunday’s showdown only needing a draw after defeating Singapore 2-0 while Qatar, who have an inferior goal difference, also beat Hong Kong by the same score at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. With Hong Kong having suffered a huge defeat to Jordan in their opener, Qatar would have gone into the tie at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium with high hopes. Hong Kong however, were a different side from Wednesday as they defended resolutely with the teams heading into the break on level terms. Qatar increased their tempo after the break and were rewarded almost instantly, with Mohamed Khaled Gouda breaking the deadlock in the 47th minute. Their resistance broken, Hong Kong conceded again in the 61st minute, with captain Ibrahim Mohammadali providing Qatar with a much needed healthier advantage to allow them to calmly see out the remaining minutes.