Qatari delegation continues preparations for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

PARIS  - The Qatari delegation continues its preparations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, as the team Qatar  players for sports with special needs, Ali Arshad and Sarah Masoud, have increased their preparations to participate in their next two competitions in the tournament. Sarah Masoud will participate in the women's shot put competitions for the (F33) category on Thursday, while Ali Arshad will participate in the men's ///800 race for the (T34) category next Friday morning, a few days after he won sixth place in the 100-meter wheelchair race. In a related context, HE President of the Qatar Paralympic Federation Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud Al -Thani, visited Tuesday the headquarters of the Qatari delegation in the sports village of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and was briefed on the progress of work and procedures carried out by the administrative delegation, appreciating their efforts to facilitate the participation of the Qatari team in this session. He stressed the federation's keenness to support its players during their participation in this edition, and praised the performance provided by Ali Arshad in the final of the men's 100-meter race, where he was able to occupy sixth place in the overall ranking. The 17th edition of the Paralympic Games, hosted by the French capital, Paris, during the period from August 28 to September 8, 2024, will witness the participation of 4,400 athletes from all over the world. The Qatari delegation is headed by Secretary-General of the Qatar Paralympic Federation Dr. Hassan Al Ansari.   

China edges out Qatar in Asian Youth Basketball Championship

DOHA  - Qatar’s Youth basketball team were defeated  by Chinese counterparts (43-99) in their match that took place Tuesday in the second round of Group C of FIBA U-18 Asia Cup , which is currently being held in Jordan until September 9 and qualifies for the 2025 World Cup. The four periods of the match were (28-15, 22-10, 23-8, 26-10) in favor of China. In the same group, the Japanese national team got better of  its Kazakh counterpart (84-35). The Qatari national team is scheduled to meet its Kazakh counterparts in the third round at the conclusion of the first round matches, while China will shake hands Japan. In the rest of the matches of the second round of the first round, Lebanon lost to Australia (46-78), and Chinese Taipei defeated Mongolia with (92-46) in the matches of the first group, and Iran defeated India (70-53) in the second group, and New Zealand defeated Indonesia (89-43) in the fourth round.   

Qatar to take on Kuwait in Gulf men’s Basketball Championship

MANAMA - The Qatari national team will lock horns against Kuwaiti counterparts on Wednesday, in the third and final round of the first round of the 17th Gulf Men's Basketball Championship, which is hosted by Bahrain until Sep. 7. The tournament is being held with the participation of only four teams: Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Qatari national team wasted an easy win over its Saudi counterpart Tuesday, losing by two points (79-81) in their match that took place in the second round. Qatar advanced in the first three periods of the match with scores (18-15, 38-30, 61-47), but the players' performance declined in the fourth and final period, which ended in favor of Saudi Arabia (23-9) to end the match in a tie (70-70), and the two teams resorted to a 5-minute timeout, which the Saudi team decided with a score of (11-9), to win the match (81-79). The semi-final matches will be determined based on the results of the first round matches, with the first team meeting the third and the second team meeting the fourth, with the winners qualifying for the final match. The Qatari team holds the record for the number of times it has won the championship title with 6 titles, and is looking to strengthen its historical superiority over its closest competitor, the Saudi team, which has won four titles. The Gulf’s Men Basketball Championship was kicked off   in its first edition in 1981, and the Kuwaiti team won the title, while the last edition was held in 2019, during which Saudi Arabia won the title for the fourth time. Qatar holds the record for the number of consecutive times it has won the title with 4 titles, in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2016.   

Al Mana attends para athletics competitions

PARIS -  The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) First Vice President H.E. Mohamed bin Yousef Al Mana attended the para athletics competitions at the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games on Monday at Stade de France where Qatar’s Ali Arshad ended his campaign in the men’s 100m T34 event, settling for sixth position.  Al-Mana commended the organizing committee of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris for their efforts in hosting this global sporting event. He also praised the outstanding opening ceremony, held at the Place de la Concorde.  The QOC First Vice President wished the best of luck to Team Qatar stars in their upcoming events as Sara Masoud will compete in the women's shot put on Thursday, and Ali Arshad will participate in the 800-meter race on Friday.  

Team Qatar will take on UAE in opening match of Asian qualifiers for 2026 FIFA World Cup

DOHA –  Qatar’s senior football team will lock horns against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in  the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha  on Thursday. Set to take place on September 5th, Qatar takes on the UAE, which topped the first of its group in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers.  Besides the UAE, Qatar will compete in Group A alongside Iran, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and North Korea. The 2023 AFC Champions will continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with a series of crucial matches after their opener against the UAE.  Qatar will play their second qualifying match away against North Korea on September 10th. Following that, they will host the Kyrgyz Republic on October 10th before traveling to Tehran for an away match against Iran on October 15th.  Qatar will wrap up the first round of group matches on November 14th, when it plays Uzbekistan at home.

Arshad finishes sixth in 100m T34 final at Paris Paralympics

DOHA - Qatar’s Ali Arshad ended his campaign in the men’s 100m T34 event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, settling for sixth position at Stade de France on Monday. Ali, who clocked a personal best of 15.20 secs in the qualifying round on Sunday, finished the final in 15.42 secs with Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana clinching the gold medal with a time of 14.76 secs – his personal best mark and area record.  Tunisia’s world record holder Walid Ktila claimed silver medal in 15.14 secs while Canada’s Austin Smeenk took the bronze after clocking 15.19 secs. Australia’s Rheed Mccracken (15.31 secs) and UAE’s Mohamad Othman (15.40 secs) respectively completed the top five in the final. Ali’s time was better than Finland’s Henry Manni (15.64 secs) and China’s Wenhao Gong (15.67 secs), who finished in seventh and eighth positions respectively. The Qatar athlete will now look for his maiden Paralympic medal in the 800m T34 event which will start on Friday. “I am overall satisfied with my performance in the 100m because it was a tough field,” Ali said after the event. “I am hoping to be better in the 800m event as I have gained good experience now.” Al Annabi’s main hope Sara Masoud will be in action in the women’s F33 shot put event on Thursday.