Doha Elite16 to begin on Tuesday

The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour is just about to pick up from where it left off. The first big stop after December’s 2023 Finals in Doha is set to take place this week, again in the Qatari capital, ready to host the first Elite16 event of 2024 from March 5 to 9. As the world’s highest-calibre teams get together for the first time after the off-season, it will be exciting to see them in battle for Elite16 honours again, but as usual during the final stages of the Olympic qualification process, a lot of the focus will fall on the race for Paris 2024 tickets. In each gender, 17 of these tickets will be issued through the Olympic ranking and high-level Beach Pro Tour events offer plenty of precious points towards that ranking. While the teams already placed high in the provisional Olympic rankings can be quite certain of making it among the Paris 2024 participants, it will be most interesting to follow the pairs in the gray area around the cut-off line or the pairs from nations with more than two solid candidates for the maximum of two spots per country. One such case is Switzerland, which has three strong women’s duos racing with each other for two Olympic tickets. Currently, Nina Brunner & Tanja Huberli are below the other two in the women’s ranking, but they are the only one of the three, pre-seeded to compete in the Doha Elite16 main draw. They will compete in Pool A with strong opposition from the world’s number one team Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) & Ana Patricia Ramos of Brazil and Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallists Taliqua Clancy & Mariafe Artacho Del Solar of Australia. Pool B features USA’s Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss, Brazil’s Barbara Seixas & Carol Solberg and Italy’s Marta Menegatti & Valentina Gottardi, all of whom seem pretty safe for their places in Paris, but in the cases of the Americans and the Brazilians, they always have to watch out for threats from lower-ranked compatriot duos. One of these duos, Brazil’s Taina Bigi & Victoria Lopes, currently their country’s third in line for Olympic visas, will compete in Pool C against the likes of reigning world champions Sara Hughes & Kelly Cheng of the United States and Dutch standouts Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon. Germany’s Louisa Lippmann & Laura Ludwig are the team to watch in Pool D. They are also their country’s third in line in the provisional Olympic ranking, but well within reach of the tickets to Paris. They will be up against high-ranked Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson of Canada and Xue Chen & Xia Xinyi of China. While the top-ranked German pair, Cinja Tillmann & Svenja Muller, will not be in Doha, the nation’s next best, Karla Borger & Sandra Ittlinger, will be among the several gray-area teams set to go through Tuesday’s qualification grind. Among those are Spain’s Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno, Lithuania’s Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte, Poland’s Jagoda Gruszczynska & Aleksandra Wachowicz and Austria’s Dorina Klinger & Ronja Klinger. Agatha Bednarczuk & Rebecca Cavalcanti, starting from the qualifiers as well, will also be interesting to observe. They are now the fourth highest ranked Brazilian duo, but certainly capable of pulling off a victorious sprint towards the Paris berths. The men’s race for Olympic tickets seems to be a little bit tighter around the cut-off and the gray area in the men’s ranking seems to be a little bit wider. The men’s Pool A in Doha features three of the few teams almost certain to compete under the Eiffel Tower: Sweden’s David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig, Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Mariano and Germany’s Clemens Wickler & Nils Ehlers. So do Pool B with qualified world champions Ondrej Perusic & David Schweiner of Czechia, Andre Stein & George Wanderley of Brazil and Alexander Brouwer & Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands, and Pool C with Paolo Nicolai & Samuele Cottafava of Italy, Michal Bryl & Bartosz Losiak of Poland and, less so, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan of Qatar. However, the Brazilians, the Italians and especially the Dutch have to be mindful of the strong challenge that may be presented by their compatriots, currently lower in the ranking. One of these duos, Stefan Boermans & Yorick de Groot, the third highest ranked Dutch team at the moment, but with plenty of potential to climb up the ladder, will challenge reigning Olympic champions and the world’s number one team, Norway’s Anders Mol & Christian Sorum, in Pool C. Also in that pool is one of at least four US duos in the race for their country’s two Olympic quotas, Trevor Crabb & Theodore Brunner. Crabb & Brunner are neck and neck with Chase Budinger & Miles Evans in the ranking. Slightly above them are Miles Partain & Andrew Benesh and slightly below them are Chaim Schalk & Tri Bourne. While Partain & Benesh will skip Doha, both of the other two pairs will take to the courts for Tuesday’s qualifier.  The 16-team men’s qualification bracket is loaded with more gray area candidates for Olympic tickets, like Steven van de Velde & Matthew Immers of the Netherlands, Robin Seidl & Moritz Pristauz of Austria, Pedro Solberg & Gustavo Carvalhaes (Guto) of Brazil, Piotr Kantor & Jakub Zdybek of Poland, Daniel Dearing & Samuel Schachter of Canada, Daniele Lupo & Enrico Rossi of Italy, Joao Pedrosa & Hugo Campos of Portugal, Patrikas Stankevicius & Audrius Knasas of Lithuania and Marco Krattiger & Florian Breer of Switzerland, as well as safer bets like Australia’s Thomas Hodges & Zachery Schubert or Austria’s Julian Horl & Alexander Horst.  

GCC Golf Championship concludes

Doha: Saudi Arabia’s in-form Khalid Attieh edged out Qatar’s Saleh al-Kaabi to win the individual title of GCC Golf Championship at the Doha Golf Club (DGC) on Sunday. Attieh, who won Bahrain Armature Open recently, defeated two-time champions al-Kaabi by four strokes for an impressive title victory. The Saudi national team player carded rounds of 78, 72, 71 and 76 for a championship total of 297 – nine over par. Al-Kaabi stumbled in the decisive round, carding 81 to finish runner-up. Qatar’s Ali al-Sharani finished third after scoring 78 for a total score of 303. Saudi Arabia also won the GCC Team Championship on Sunday, claiming a seven-shot victory with an aggregate of 931, while the United Arab Emirates claimed second position, edging two-time defending champions Qatar by a single stroke. Bahrain and Oman finished fourth and fifth respectively. On Saturday, the UAE swept junior titles with Rayan Ahmed (223) grabbing the individual crown after a four-shot victory over compatriot Mohamed Skaik. Oman’s Ayman Ghaleb al-Busaidi was third with an aggregate of 238. The UAE also clinched the Junior Team Championship title with a combined card of 450 while Oman (504) and Bahrain (540) rounded off the podium. QGA president Hassan Nasser al-Naimi crowned the podium winners during the closing ceremony, which was also attended by regional golf officials and participating contingents. A total of 31 golfers representing all the GCC nations barring Kuwait took part in the championship that included three days of youth contests, while the adult events witnessed four rounds.  

Curtain comes down on World Aquatics Masters Championships

The World Aquatics Masters Championships – Doha 2024 drew to a close today as the last of the medal events were completed following 10 days of inspiring action across five aquatic sports in Doha. Today brought an end to more than a month of exciting aquatics action, with the Masters Championships following on from the World Aquatics Championships. Both events were held in the Middle East for the first time. The World Aquatics Masters Championships saw more than 2,500 athletes aged 25 and above compete in swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming, diving and water polo as the all-encompassing nature of sport was showcased to the world in Doha. Clubs from 85 different countries were represented with more than 41 championships and 19 world records broken, more than any previous Masters Championships. Director General of the Doha 2024 Local Organising Committee, Khaleel al-Jaber, praised the athletes for their contributions and emphasised the importance of individuals of all ages continuing to participate in sport. Al-Jaber said: “Over the past 10 days, the Masters competitors have inspired us with their performances and united in peaceful competition. In addition to the high standard of competition across all age groups, we have been reminded of the inclusivity of aquatic sports. “As a country, we remain steadfast in our belief that sport has a special and unique role to play in society. Sport brings great health benefits to all participants and helps drive social cohesion. Throughout the Masters Championships, and the World Aquatics Masters Championships, that powerful message has been portrayed to the world. It has been an honour for Qatar to host both of these prestigious events.” Chair of the World Aquatics Masters Technical Committee, Nadine Day, said: “As the curtains fall on the World Aquatics Masters Championships – Doha 2024, we extend our deepest gratitude to the organising committee for their unwavering support and dedication in orchestrating this remarkable event. Aspire Zone’s theme is inspiring others, this event achieved that. “As we bid farewell to Doha, we carry with us the memories of this event and the friendships we made. Thank you, Doha, for hosting a truly unforgettable competition in these world class venues. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we bid a fond farewell to this remarkable chapter of our journey.”  

Draw held for Ooredoo Qatar Major

Doha: The Premier Padel season is already running very fast. Not even time to conclude – with the finals on Saturday– the Riyadh Season P1 that from Sunday will be played in Doha the Ooredoo Qatar Major, the first of the four tournaments of the highest level included into the calendar of the circuit – unified from this year, like the ranking – under the governance of the International Padel Federation. Compared to the P1 in Riyadh, the men’s draw in Doha (the tournament is played at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex) will see 56 pairs starting in the main draw, eight of them from the qualifiers that began on Saturday and will end on Sunday. Ale Galan and Juan Lebron are the number 1 seed: for them, in the second round, the winners of Ortega/Piotto-Windahl/Marmolejo, the latter having already been defeated in the second round in Riyadh by the number 1 pair on the entry list. Possible clash in the round of 16 with Yanguas/Garrido (10), possible quarter-final with Ruiz/Tello (7), possible semi-final with Stupaczuk/Di Nenno (3), defending champions in Qatar and drawn in the same quarter as Momo Gonzalez and Fede Chingotto (5). At the bottom half, a qualified pair or Rivera/Mercadal for Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutierrez, seeded number 4 and looking for immediate revenge after the opening knockout in Riyadh Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, number 2 in the seeding, will find Zapata/Goenaga or Patiniotis/Dominguez, who defeated Belasteguin/Capra in Riyadh, after a first-round bye reserved for the top eight seeds. The women’s draw, on the other hand, rises from 32 to 48 pairs compared to Riyadh, with the 16 seeds exempted from playing the first round. Number 1 seeds again Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria, who will debut against Canellas/Navarro Lopez-Barajas or wild cards Carla Fito Fernandez and 15-year-old Amanda Lopez Moral. At the bottom, Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez (2) are expected to take on Varo Ramos/Alonso de Lera or Fassio/Borrero. Many changes in the pairs compared to the season-opening P1: Gemma Triay will play with the very young Claudia Fernandez, as the tournament’s number 3 seed. Debuts against wild cards Al Nabhani/Gallo Frias or Collombon/Ginier Barbier. Marta Ortega and Veronica Virseda’s (4) debut will be against a qualified pair or Castillon/Pilquer. The main draw will start from Sunday with the first round matches. The finals will be played on Friday (March 8).

Qatar’s Al Kaabi in sight of hat-trick of senior individual titles

Doha: Saleh Al Kaabi is just one dominant round away from completing his hat-trick of senior individual titles at the GCC Golf Championship as the top Qatar golfers secured a one-point lead on the penultimate day at Doha Golf Club (DGC) on Saturday. The two-time defending champion fired one-under-par 71 in challenging conditions for an aggregate of 220 ahead of the final day. Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Attieh maintained his second place after an identical card of 71 with another Qatari golfer Ali Al Shahrani finishing the day on third position after a card of 73 – five strokes off leader Al Kaabi. In the GCC Team Championship, Saudi Arabia (694 aggregate) were four shots ahead of joint second – hosts Qatar and Bahrain after the third round. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates swept junior titles at DGC with Rayan Ahmed (223) grabbing the individual crown after a four-shot victory over compatriot Mohammad Skaik. Oman’s Ayman Ghaleb Al Busaidi was third with an aggregate of 238. The UAE also clinched the Junior Team Championship title with a combined card of 450 while Oman (504) and Bahrain (540) rounded off the podium. The crowning ceremony for the winners will take place at the Doha Golf Club after the conclusion of senior competitions on Sunday.  

Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel 2024 begins

Doha: Doha is set to join the Premier Padel season when the Ooredoo Qatar Major, the inaugural event of  the  four  high-profile tournaments, begins today at   the   Khalifa   International   Tennis and Squash Complex  As per the draw, all the top-eight seeds in the male category and the top-16 seeds in the female had been given a bye into the second round.   For the male, No. 1 seed Ale Galan and Juan Lebron will be up against the winners of Mario Ortega/Ignacio Piotto Albornoz versus Daniel Windahl/Jose Solano Marmolejo in the second round, while defending champions Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno will begin their title defence with a second round tie against the winners of Mario Del Castillo/Miguel Benitez Lara versus a pair of qualifiers.   For the female,  Number 1 seeds Ariana Sanchez Fallada and Paula Josemaria Martin will debut against the winners between Ariadna Cañellas Rodero/Teresa Navarro López Barajas and wildcards Carla Fito Fernandez and 15-year-old Amanda Lopez Moral.   The male category will see 56 pairs starting in the main draw, eight of them from the qualifiers that began on Saturday and will end today, while the female draw, on the other hand, has 48 pairs.