Barron takes lead in Qatar with blistering back nine

DOHA - Haydn Barron hit five birdies on the back nine to card a five-under-par 67 and take a two-shot lead after the second round of the Qatar Masters on Friday. The Australian is nine-under-par overall, with compatriot Harrison Endycott and Japan's Rikuya Hoshino his closest challengers at seven-under, both carding four-under-par rounds. Barron began the day one shot off leaders Ashun Wu and Zander Lombard, and after parring every hole on the front nine, he hit his stride after the turn and birdied the last three holes to take control. "It was a good day. It got off to a bit of a slow start, nine pars in a row at the front, hitting really good shots and playing really well, just the putts were sliding by," Barron said. "Hit one through the green on ten and chipped one close for my first birdie and then felt a little bit of momentum and rolled a couple in coming home there." Lombard opened his round with two bogeys, and his one-under-par round saw him lose the lead and the South African is now three shots behind Barron while Wu is a further shot back after his level par round.  

Defending champion Swiatek and other top-eight seeds get first round bye

The tournament's top-eight seeds— Defending champion Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Qinwen Zheng, Marketa Vondrousova,Maria Sakkari, and Jelena Ostapenko—all got a first-round bye at the end of the draw ceremony of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2024 held at the Media Center of the Khalifa Intrernational Tennis and Squash Complex on Friday. In attendance at the event were Tournament Director Saad Al Mohannadi, QTF Board Member Karim Alami, VP HR, Communication, and CSR at Qatar TotalEnergies Abdullah Mohsein, QTF Board Member Mohammed Al Sobaie, and other dignitaries and invited guests. World No. 1 Swiatek, who will be attempting to make history in Doha as the first three-time winner of the Golden Falcon trophy, will be waiting on the wings to face the winner of the clash between the USA's Sloane Stephens and Frenchwoman Sorana Cirstea in the second round, while Gauff, the world No. 3, will be up against whoever emerges as the winner between Katerina Siniakova and Donna Vekic. Rybakina, on the other hand, will be waiting for the outcome of the Lin Zhu versus Varvara Gracheva encounter to know her second round opponent, while Arab and African sensation Ons Jabeur of Tunisia will take on whoever remained standing after the clash between Zeynep Sonmez and Lesla Tsurenko. With the draw, the path to the final for record-attempting Swiatek will likely involve a potential clash with 14-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16, while Jabeur's dream of becoming the first Arab winner of the tournament may likely pass through the test of former World No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka in the round of 16, all things being equal. A total of $3,211,715 is up for grabs in prize money at the 22nd edition of the annual tennis tournament, which has continued to receive amazing ratings and applause globally for its superb organization and quality of play. The outdoor hard courts tournament's is the first WTA 1000 event of the season, and the main court of the ultra-modern tennis complex is set to welcome 7,000 spectators for a week-long fiesta of tennis that concludes on February 17. "We are extremely delighted to have the array of top stars featured at this year's event. With the event now a WTA 1000 tournament, the quality of play is also expected to improve considerably, considering what is at stake, which means more entertainment, excitement, and fun for all participants and attendees. As usual, all hands have been put on the deck to ensure a quality time for everyone, and I can't wait enough to have the main event serve off on Sunday," said Tournament Director Saad Al Mohannadi. Held since 2001, the Qatar TotalEnergies Open is one of the signature events on the WTA Tour calendar and a most sought-after tournament in the region. Time and again, the stars have heaped praise on the organizers for the perfect organization and the hospitality rolled out to them by the organizers.  

Yani knocks off Yiwen for China’s 8th diving gold medal

Doha, Qatar: Chang Yani topped teammate Chen Yiwen on the 3-meter springboard yesterday, giving the powerhouse Chinese team its eighth diving gold medal of the World Aquatics Championships. Chen was the two-time reigning world champion and led the semi-finals, giving her the prime last spot in the final. But Chang turned in five stellar dives and led all the way to finish with 354.75 points, with Chen settling for the silver at 336.60. The bronze went to South Korea’s Kim Suji at 311.25. Maddison Keeney of Australia and Sarah Bacon of the United States finished fourth and fifth, respectively. China also added to its big haul in artistic swimming, capturing the team free title for its sixth gold of the championships. Chang and Chen will be the heavy favorites to battle for springboard gold at this year’s Paris Olympics - an event the Chinese haven’t lost since the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The duo also captured the synchronized 3-meter title in Doha. China has won all but three diving events in Doha - two of those it did not enter - and will head to Paris as overwhelming favorites to extend one of the greatest dynasties in Olympic sports. Beginning with their emergence in 1984, the Chinese have won 47 of 72 diving gold medals. Since the Olympic program doubled from four to eight events in 2000, they have been even more dominant - 38 gold medals in 48 events. One thing the Chinese haven’t done is take the top spot in all eight diving events at a single Olympics. They’ve claimed seven golds three times, including at the Tokyo Games in 2021, and will be looking for their first clean sweep in Paris. The final two diving events will be held today at the Hamad Aquatic Centre. Artistic swimming will also wrap up at the Aspire Dome with the last of 11 events - mixed duet free - before the pool gives way to the high-profile swimming competition tomorrow. China captured the team free with 339.7604 points. Japan earned the silver at 315.2229, while the United States claimed the bronze with 304.9021. The Americans added to the bronze they won in team acrobatic routine. China has claimed 14 gold medals in 26 events through eight days of the first world championships to be held in the Middle East.  

Qatar and Mexico National Olympic Committees sign Memorandum of Understanding to enhance sports cooperation

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to enhance sports cooperation between the two National Olympic Committees (NOCs). The signing ceremony took place at the Aspire Dome on the sidelines of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha. The MoU was signed by H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the QOC and President of the Organizing Committee of the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024, and H.E. Ms. María José Alcalá, President of the COM. H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani said: “The Qatar Olympic Committee is pleased to sign this Memorandum of Understanding with the Mexican Olympic Committee, which will pave the way for enhanced cooperation between our two NOCs. We are committed to ensuring the effective implementation of this MoU, and we will spare no effort in supporting all partners in the Olympic Movement in our two countries. Our sporting journey in Qatar is based on the experience and knowledge we have gained over the past decades and working in collaboration with members of the Olympic family.” On the occasion, Mrs Maria José Alcalá, President of the Mexican Olympic Committee, expressed her gratitude to His Excellency for this opportunity that will boost the collaboration among the Olympic Committees of both countries for the benefit of their athletes and for the strengthening of world sports. With the company of the Ambassador of Mexico, Guillermo Ordorica, she also referred to the importance of the bonds of friendship and cooperation between Mexico and Qatar in the sports arena The signing of the MoU is a significant step forward in the relationship between the QOC and the COM. It is a testament to the shared commitment of the two countries to developing and promoting sports.  

Sheikh Joaan meets with Kyrgyz Olympic Committee President

His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), met with Mr. Sadyr Mamytov, President of the Kyrgyz Olympic Committee, on the sidelines of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, which is currently taking place in Doha. The meeting discussed ways to enhance sports cooperation between the two countries. Sheikh Joaan also met with Mr. Daniel Gyurta, a member of the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission and a former Hungarian Olympic swimming champion.  

Wang twins win fourth artistic gold in Doha

Doha: China’s gold medal tally swelled to 12 at the World Aquatics Championships Doha after Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi clinched the women’s duet free title, while Yang Hao and Lian Junjie won a thrilling men’s 10m synchronised platform diving final on Thursday. For Liuyi and Qianyi it was their fourth gold medal in Doha as they edged Dutch pair Bregje de Brouwer and Noortje de Brouwer in an absorbing battle of the two twins. The de Brouwer twins missed out on the title by a mere 0.2750 as the Wang sisters completed a duet double, while Great Britain’s Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe took bronze. It has been an incredible World Championships for the Wang twins having topped the podium in both the women duet technical and women duet free as well as helping China to mixed team acrobatic routine and mixed team technical titles. At Fukuoka 2023, the Chinese duo picked up one medal from the duet competitions courtesy of a silver in the duet free but they have been back to their very best at the Aspire Dome. Wang siblings received 158.0229 for elements and 92.7500 for artistic impression to a degree of difficulty of 42.150 for a winning score of 250.7729. It takes their overall world title tally to 10 stretching back to when they won team free combination bronze at Budapest 2017. “I feel so excited about what we achieved here,” said Wang Liuyi. “To win four out of four gold medals can’t be easy. This achievement was based on our hard training on every single day and also thanks to our great team, which inspired us to show our best version. We had won four straight gold medals in Budapest 2022, too, so we knew that we could do it again. This time our main goal was to also combine it with a great performance in each event.” There was unfinished business for the de Brouwer sisters having finished one place short of a medal in the women duet technical. The scored 250.4979, including 159.9479 for elements and 90.5500 for artistic impression to a degree of difficulty of 43.700. Later at the Hamad Aquatics Centre, Yang Hao and Lian Junjie won their third-consecutive world title together with a dominating 48.4-point margin of victory. They won ahead of the British hero Tom Daley and his partner Noah Williams. Daley won his second medal of the competition, following gold in the team event, just six months after a return from a two year diving hiatus. The Ukrainian pair of Kirill Boliukh and Oleksii Sereda, one of the youngest duos in the competition, took bronze. Meanwhile, the Australian team of Moesha Johnson, Chelsea Gubecka, Nicholas Sloman and Kyle Lee took down defending champions Italy in the final open water swimming event of the World Aquatics Championships – Doha. Australia won a scrapping fight over Italy and Hungary to close out the open water swimming schedule at the Old Doha Port. Ir was Australia’s first-ever gold medal in the open water team relay at the World Championships at 1:03:28.0 as Lee got the final touch over the Italian team in silver at 1:03:28.2. The Italians won the silver for their fifth straight medal in this relay with the team of Giulia Gabbrielleschi, Arianna Bridi, Gregorio Paltrinieri, and Domenico Acerenza. Hungary lost touch with the lead pack but won the bronze for the third straight medal at the championships with the team of Bettina Fabian, Mira Szimcsak, David Betlehem, and Kristof Rasovszky touching at 1:04:06.8.