Von Eckermann impresses in Doha Tour

Doha: World No. 1 Henrick Von Eckermann emerged triumphant in the CS14 *150cm Class during the second round of Doha International Equestrian at Al Shaqab yesterday.  The swede partnered with his mare Glamour Girl to finish more than one second clear of Brazil's Santiago Lambre and Chacco Blue.  Japan's Mike Kawai took the third place with his mare Promise Z.  The winners were presented their trophies by Mohammed Jaber Al Khayareen, Director of Equestrian Education Department at Al Shaqab  

Qatar Team gear up to take China in AFC Asian Cup Qatar

DOHA  - Qatar football team continued their preparations for a match against the Chinese team at Khalifa International Stadium on Monday in the third round of Group A of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. The Qatari team topped the group with six points after defeating Lebanon in the opening match 3-0 and Tajikistan in the second round to reach the round of 16. The Qatari team conducted trainings at Aspire Academy, led by their coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez, with a quest to clinch the ninth point and keep the title holders' record free of any draw or defeat. Lopez focused on the positive aspects after the team achieved their second victory over Tajikistan, in addition to exploring the tactical aspects and working to avoid some of the negative points surfaced in the previous confrontations. It is expected that Qatar coach may resort to involve new players who did not have the opportunity to play in the Lebanon and Tajikistan matches in order to prepare them for the upcoming decisive matches, especially since the qualifying round matches require double effort as they will be according to the direct knockout system. The 2019 Asian Cup title holders will hold their final training tomorrow at stadium No. 3 in Aspire, and the technical staff will put the final touches on the lineup that will play against China. Spanish coach Lopez is scheduled to participate in tomorrow's press conference which will be held at 11 a.m. at the main media center conference hall in Msheireb. Ahmed Al Janhi, Qatar team player, said that the upcoming clash against China is not easy as the latter need points in order to qualify for the next round, noting that the team's goal is to finish the group stage with a full score. In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the player, who is making his first official continental participation with the national team, added that they aspire to achieve the three points in the next match, and they want to continue achieving victories. In this tournament all teams have the same chances, so our goal is to continue competing strongly, respecting the competitor, and showing full focus, he said. Al Gharafa player concluded that their victory in the next confrontation will give them morale motivation in the coming rounds. For his part, Khalid Mohammed, Qatar team player, considered that the preparations to confront the Chinese team are similar to those conducted to play against Lebanon and Tajikistan, hoping that the team would continue their positive path in the tournament and achieve their third victory.   

WTT Contender Doha 2024 concludes

Doha: 42-year-old table tennis icon Timo Boll turned back the clock on the final day at WTT Contender Doha 2024, clinching his first Men’s Singles title on the WTT Series with a dramatic 4-3 win against Tomokazu Harimoto (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8).    Entering the event as a Host Wildcard, the former World No.1 looked back to his best over the course of the week in Doha, outclassing two of the top-three seeds Jang Woojin and Lin Yun-Ju on his way to the final, and was determined to complete the trio with No.2 seed Harimoto awaiting at the final hurdle.  Harimoto made a blinding start to the match, ripping a cracking top spin down the diagonal at 8-9 to set up game point, which he duly converted at the first time of asking. The Japanese player then looked poised to double his advantage after opening up a promising 5-8 lead in game two, but Boll clawed his way back to 9-9 before drawing back-to-back errors from his opponent to level things up at one game apiece.    Momentum swung in Boll’s favour, and the German legend could sense the opportunity, keeping his foot firmly on the accelerator pedal to move 2-1 ahead. Harimoto looked a little shaken up, but quickly found his composure to rally back to 2-2, and the passionate celebrations continued in game five as Harimoto capitalised on a well-timed ‘Time Out’ call late in the game to retake the lead.  With the scoreboard showing 5-9 in Harimoto’s favour, it looked almost inevitable that the Japanese player would kick on to close out the match in six. But Boll had other ideas, leaning on his vast experience to weather the storm, bagging six points in a row to force a decider. Leading for most of the final game, Harimoto edged closer and closer to the finish line, but it was Boll who would have the last laugh, taking the second of three Championship Point opportunities to kickstart the euphoric celebrations.  Holding his first WTT Series trophy with a beaming smile on his face, Boll ends a 30 month wait for a return to success, with his previous Men’s Singles title at an international ranking event coming at the 2020 ITTF European Championships.  The Women’s Singles final also went the full distance as Jeon Jihee saved six Championship Points to stun top seed Shin Yubin in an extraordinary title match (8-11, 11-9, 14-16, 9-11, 18-16, 11-8, 11-5).  A topsy-turvy affair from start to finish, both players experienced their fair share of ups and downs. Locked up at one game apiece, Jeon had four game point opportunities in the third end as she bid to take the lead for the first time in the match. But she failed to put the game away as Shin held her nerve on all four occasions, before going on to steal the game.    Another game soon fell into Shin’s hands as the 19-year-old star opened up a commanding 1-3 lead in the best of seven encounter. But then came the most astonishing game of them all as Jeon saved two Championship Points at 8-10 down to extend game five, before denying Shin victory four more times to win a 34-point thriller.    From Jeon’s elation to Shin’s devastation, the contrast in emotions coming out of game five couldn’t have been more stark, and that would ultimately prove the turning point as Jeon rode on the wave of momentum to bring home her first-ever Women’s Singles title on the WTT Series.  That wasn’t Jeon and Shin’s only appearance of the day, combining forces in the opening match of Day 4 to see off Annett Kaufmann and Sabine Winter in the Women’s Doubles final (11-8, 11-5, 11-4). Lim Jonghoon and Lee Sang Su came away with the Men’s Doubles title, prevailing 3-2 over Lam Siu Hang and Ho Kwan Kit (11-13, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6).

Team Qatar qualify for 2025 World handball Championship

Manama: Qatar’s handball team qualified for 2025 World Championship to be held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.  With their second victory over Iran 27-23 in their second main round match of the 21st Asian Men’s Championship, which is currently being held in Bahrain, Team Qatar sealed their ticket to world championships.  Qatar had earlier defeated UAE 25-21 and will face Japan tomorrow. In preliminary round, defending champions Qatar showcased dominance, securing the first position in Group A by defeating Kuwait, Oman, and Chinese Taipei.

WTT Contender Doha 2024 to conclude on Saturday

Doha: Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin have landed the first trophy up for grabs at WTT Contender Doha 2024, with the two-time World Mixed Doubles champions completing a spectacular comeback win against Wang Manyu and Lin Gaoyuan on Day 3 (10-12, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 17-15). Dropping just one game on their way to the Mixed Doubles final in Doha, top seeds Sun and Wang were looking to give their excellent campaign the finish it deserved, but were pushed to their very limits in Friday’s title showdown. Racing out of the starting blocks at breakneck speed, it was the unseeded pair of Wang and Lin who gained the early momentum, powering into a commanding two-game lead in no time at all. Everything appeared to be playing out exactly how the World No.35 duo had planned, and before long, the finish line was in sight as Wang and Lin moved into Championship Point territory at 9-10 in game three. However, Sun and Wang held firm to extend the match, scoring not one, but two games in quick succession to force a decider. The 2021 and 2023 World champions would go on to save two further Championship Points at 11-12 and 13-14 in game five, disheartening their compatriots to bring home a dramatic win. Rediscovering his magic touch in Doha, Timo Boll is through to his first Men’s Singles final on the WTT Series following another impressive day at the office for the 42-year-old German icon. Chalking up a 3-1 victory over No.7 seed Lee Sang Su at the quarterfinal hurdle (11-2, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6), Boll knew he’d have to take his game up another level later in the day, with No.1 seed Lin Yun-Ju standing in his way. Leaning on all his experience, Boll twice fought back from behind to get the better of Lin, upstaging the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023 champion across five thrilling games (5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5). Boll’s Day 3 success sets up a must-watch title showdown with Tomokazu Harimoto, who bagged his ticket to Saturday’s final with a 3-2 win against Shunsuke Togami (8-11, 11-4, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7). The Women’s Singles final will be contested by Korean compatriots Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee after both players stood up to the task in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Top seed Shin resumed her campaign with a comfortable win against Manika Batra (12-10, 11-8, 11-6) before adding a four-game success against Dina Meshref (11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9) to the list later in the day. The result, however, wasn’t enough to deny Meshref her moment in the sun, becoming the first African player to reach the Women’s Singles semifinals at a WTT Series event. Holding her nerve to navigate a full distance affair against Lee Zion on Day 2, Jeon Jihee had no such drama on Day 3, brushing aside challenges from Annett Kaufmann (11-8, 11-3, 11-8) and Orawan Paranang (11-6, 11-5, 11-5) in straight games.

Team Qatar defeat UAE in Main Round of Asian Handball Championship

Manama: The Qatari handball team defeated the United Arab Emirates team 25/21 on Thursday in their first match in Group A competitions of the main round of the 21st Asian Men's Handball Championship, which is currently being held in Bahrain and continues until Jan. 25. The Qatari team will play their second match in this round on Friday against the Iranian team. In the other match held for Group A in the main round, the Japanese team defeated the Iranian team with a score of 25/23. The eight teams that qualified for the main round were distributed into two groups, where Group A includes Qatar, Iran, Japan and the UAE, while Group B includes Kuwait, South Korea, Iraq and Bahrain. The first and second from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, in addition to advancing directly to the 2025 World Championship.