Qatar face Australia, eye third win on trot

Hosts Qatar, who have already confirmed their place in the quarter-finals, will be looking for their third successive win as they take on Australia in the final Group A match of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. With wins over Indonesia and Jordan, Ilidio Vale’s men have been in fine form. Against Australia, they will be without Saifeldeen Hassan, who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in two games against Jordan, and the Portuguese coach is not expecting to make major alterations to his team despite confirming their progress to the next phase. “As I have said before, I take each match one at a time,” he said. “I don’t think I will change the formation and system because we would like to secure nine points and first place, therefore all the players will want to (do their best) as well.” Meanwhile, Australia coach Tony Vidmar is confident his squad can still perform to their potential as the Olyroos go into their clash with Qatar knowing even victory might not be enough to keep their title hopes alive. A 1-0 loss to Indonesia on Thursday left the Australians with one point from two games and, with his team yet to score, Vidmar’s side are bottom of the standings going into the final round of group matches. That means Australia need to pick up all three points against Qatar while hoping Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia side draw with third-placed Jordan in their meeting today to have a realistic chance of advancing to the quarter-finals. “We have to rely on other results,” said Vidmar. “We still have to win the last game against Qatar but we need the other result to fall in our favour. We’ve got full belief in the squad that whichever team we put out there we can play to what we are capable of, which has happened in the two games. We just need to take our chances. That’s modern day football, that’s international football.”  

Calum Fitzgerald leads Qatar Open Amateur Golf Championship

Doha: England's Calum Fitzgerald led the standings the 2024 WAGR Qatar Open Amateur Golf Championship at the Doha Golf Club yesterday. Around 100 golfers representing 30 countries are taking part in the tournament, which is in its 38th edition.  The winner of the tournament will seal the coveted berth for the prestigious Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. The event is one of the oldest golf competitions having launched back in 1983. It attracts the world’s best amateur golfers who showcase their skills at the picturesque venue.

Jordan’s al-Saud wins pommel horse gold

Doha: Jordan’s Ahmed Abu al-Saud lived up to his reputation on the pommel horse after he won the gold at the 16th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Doha at the Ladies Indoor Hall on Friday. The 28-year-old amassed 15.500 points on Friday to top the final, with world champion Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland finishing third (15.233). Al-Saud had won the Asian Championships gold in Doha two years ago. He also became the first gymnast from Jordan to win a medal (silver) at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool. He followed it up with bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. The 24-year-old McClenaghan is a double world champion on pommel horse after having won gold at the 2022 and 2023 editions, but al-Saud had the last laugh on Friday. Lee Chih Kai of Chinese Taipei (15.400) took the silver. In the men’s rings finals, Armenia’s Vahagn Davtyan finished on top ahead of Nikita Simonov (Azerbaijan) and Samir Ait Said (France). Karimi Milad of Kazakhstan won the Floor Exercise final after accumulating 14.766 points. Luke Whitehouse of Great Britain took silver (14.566), Dmitriy Patanin also of Kazakhstan came third (14.500). Panama’s Karla Navas won the women’s Vault gold in a field that also featured eight-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina. Navas walked away with gold after an impressive effort of 13.850 points, though she was closely challenged by North Korea’s reigning Asian champion An Chang-ok (13.833). Bulgaria’s 17-year-old Valentina Georgieva (13.466), who has already secured her berth for the Paris Olympic Games, finished third. The women’s uneven bar was clinched by Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour. The 17-year-old registered 15.336 points with 7 in Difficulty and 8.366 in execution to pip her nearest rivals that also included Levi Ruivivar of the Philippines and Alena Tsitavets. Kaylia had become the first African gymnast to win a medal at the 2023 World Championships where she won a silver on the uneven bars. As many as 95 male and 55 female gymnasts representing 55 countries are taking part in the event, which will conclude on Saturday.  

Qatar win three gold and four silver at Youth GCC Games

Abu Dhabi: Team Qatar athletes won seven medals – three gold and four silver – on Friday at the inaugural edition of the Youth GCC Games in Abu Dhabi. The athletics team won five medals, which included three gold and two silver, while the chess team won two silver medals. The gold medals were won by Hamza Hashim (long jump), Abdullah al-Abdullah (pole vault) and Hamad Dhawi al-Sultan (discus throw).  The four silver medals were won by Rakan al-Rashidi (long jump), Younis al-Balushi (pole vault) and the under-18 women’s chess team consisting of Rawda al-Qasabi, Layan al-Qasabi and Fatima al-Kuwari, and the under-14 boys’ team consisting of Khaled al-Jamaat, Hamad al-Kuwari and Ibrahim al-Janahi. After the fourth day of competition, Qatar has won 14 medals, including 6 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze.  

Doha set to host ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship

Doha: The Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSAA) announced that Doha is ready to host the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship to begin on Saturday.  In a press conference held on Thursday, the QSAA Assistant Secretary General Jassim Shaheen Al Sulaiti said that the championship will bring together 433 shooters from 82 countries.  Al Sulaiti also stressed that the state of Qatar will be represented by 7 shooters.   

Team Qatar win two gold and bronze at Youth GCC Games

Doha: Team Qatar  athletes produced solid performance to claim two gold medals and a bronze medal on Thursday  at  the inaugural Youth GCC Games 2024 , which is organized by UAE from April 16 to second of May in Dubai. Qatar’s   para- athlete, Nusaiba Al Qattami won two gold medals in women’s  100m  and 200m (T54) events, while  Nasser Al-Saieed clinched the bronze medal in  the men’s Jujitsu ( over 85kg) to increase Qatar medal tally to  7 medals, including  three gold medals and 4 bronze medals. Qatar is participating in 22 different team and individual sports including Handball, Basketball 3x3, Volleyball, Athletics, Boxing, Jujitsu, Archery, Judo, Swimming, Karate, Esports, Golf, Badminton, Cycling, Sailing, Table Tennis, Fencing, Triathlon, Equestrian, Chess, and Para Athletics. The inaugural edition of the Youth GCC Games brings together 3,500 athletes from the six GCC nations to compete in 25 individual and team sports under the theme of "Our Gulf is One... Our Youth is Promising".