Younousse, Tijan claim back-to-back wins in Doha

Doha: Top seeds and home favourites, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan yesterday kicked off their 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Finals - Doha campaign in style, winning both of their Pool A matches in style. At Aspire Zone, Younousse and Tijan defeated Polish pair Losiak Bartosz and Michak Bryl 2:1 (14-21, 22-20, 16-14) in a thrilling opener, before overcoming Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Nicolai Paolo in straight games (21-19, 21-19). The Qatari duo will take on Czech world champions Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner today before meeting USA’s Andy Benesh and Miles Partai in their last Pool A match.  

Sheikh Joaan Participates in ANOC Executive Council Meeting

His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Vice President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), attended the 88th ANOC Executive Board Meeting, participating via videoconference on the 6th of December 2023. The meeting convened in Lausanne, Switzerland, bringing together prominent figures in the world of international sports administration.  The meeting saw the presentation of reports from the five continental associations: the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), the European Olympic Committee (EOC), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC), and the Pan American Sports Organization. The comprehensive reports provided insights into the progress, challenges and achievements of each association over the past year.  Additionally, His Excellency Sheikh Joaan and the Executive Council members were briefed on the ongoing preparations for the upcoming ANOC General Assembly which is scheduled to take place in Cascais, Portugal in 2024. Throughout the meeting, the Executive Council deliberated on a diverse range of agenda items, demonstrating their commitment to fostering collaboration, and made informed decisions that contribute to the advancement of the Olympic Movement.

Su Yon Ri, Myong Jin Pak clinch gold

Doha: Asian weightlifters continued to dominate the proceedings as North Korean stars Su Yon Ri and Myong Jin Pak delivered gold winning performances on day four of the Qatar Cup IWF Grand Prix II. In the women’s 55kg competition of what is an Olympic Games qualifying tournament, Su Yon Ri staggered to an overall lift of 210kg to win the gold. Ri managed to lift 94kg and 116kg in the snatch and clean & jerk to emerge as the top lifter in her class. Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao, secured the silver medal with a tally of 193kg (84kg snatch, 109kg clean & jerk). Khambao finished ahead of Armenia’s Aleksandra Grigoryan (189kg overall, 81 snatch, 108kg clean & jerk). In the men’s 61kg class, Myong Jin Pak sealed his win with an overall lift of 305kg. The 20-year-old lifter managed 134kg in the snatch and a staggering 171kg in the clean & jerk. The silver medal went to John Febuar Ceniza of the Philippines. Ceniza, 25, ended the competition with an overall tally of 298kg. Lifts of 133kg (snatch) and 165kg (clean & jerk) helped Ceniza to the silver. Malaysia’s Mohamed Aniq Bin Kasdan, 21, also managed to get on the podium with a tally of 296kg. The young Malaysian was impressive in the clean & jerk (170kg) but was sluggish in the snatch (126kg) Mohamed bin Youssef al-Mana, First Vice-President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and President of the Qatari and Arab Asian Weightlifting Federations, held a meeting with Dr Ashraf Sobhi, Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports and Head of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Youth and Sports Ministers. Amr Kamal El-Din El-Sherbiny, ambassador of Egypt to Doha, Qatar, and Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, President of the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation, were also present during the meeting. Dr Sobhi also met with the delegation of the Egyptian team participating in the event.  

Doha set to host Volleyball Beach Pro Tour Finals

Doha: Doha braces itself for the last and most prestigious event of the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour season. 10 men’s and 10 women’s teams are set to compete for champions-of-the-champions honours at The Finals in the Qatari capital from Wednesday, December 6, through Saturday, December 9. This is the second edition of The Finals. The inaugural 2022 event was also held in Doha in late January of this year. Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Anders Mol & Christian Sorum of Norway and United States’ Sara Hughes & Kelly Cheng, who later on triumphed as the 2023 world champions, claimed the honours of the first-ever Beach Pro Tour Finals winners in history. The men’s podium was completed by Poland’s Michal Bryl & Bartosz Losiak and Italy’s Paolo Nicolai & Samuele Cottafava, while the ladies’ silver and bronze went to Brazil’s Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) & Ana Patricia Ramos and the Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon, respectively. All of these teams are returning to Doha to play at The Finals 2023 again. It will be the 13th time Doha is hosting a world-level beach volleyball event. The first nine were stops on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, starting with the men-only Doha Open in 2014 and ending with the double-gender Doha 4-star in 2021. The next three were Beach Pro Tour events: the Doha Challenge in May 2022, the Doha Finals in January 2023 and the Doha Elite16 in February 2023. That last tournament some 10 months ago was also won by Mol & Sorum in the men’s competition, with Sweden’s David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig collecting the silver and Italy’s Adrian Carambula & Alex Ranghieri picking up the bronze. On the women’s side, Stam & Schoon triumphed as winners, while Switzerland’s Nina Brunner & Tanja Huberli and Australia’s Taliqua Clancy & Mariafe Artacho Del Solar kept them company on the podium. All of these pairs will also hit the sand courts in Doha again this week. The 10 teams per gender will be split into two round-robin pools of five, with the pool winners advancing directly to the semifinals, while the pool runners-up and the third-placed teams move on to the quarterfinals in the six-team single-elimination playoff brackets. A total prize purse of US$ 800,000 (US$ 400,000 per gender) will be at stake as the battles at Aspire Park unfold on two courts over the four competition days, climaxing with the semifinals and the medal matches on Saturday. The first whistle will blow at 13:00 local time (10:00 UTC) on Wednesday, when Germany’s Cinja Tillmann & Svenja Muller take on defending Finals champions and reigning world champions Hughes & Cheng on one of the courts, and last week’s Nuvali Challenge winners Anastasija Samoilova & Tina Graudina of Latvia challenge the world’s number one team Ana Patricia & Duda on the other. These will be the first games in the women’s Pool A, which also features Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson. An hour later, Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallists Mariafe & Clancy will take to the court for their match against European champions Huberli & Brunner, while USA’s Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss face Brazil’s Taina Bigi & Victoria Lopes in the other women’s Pool B opening game. Stam & Schoon are the fifth team in that pool. The guys will get into action at 15:00 (12:00) with the Pool A fixtures between reigning world champions Ondrej Perusic & David Schweiner of Czechia and Cottafava & Nicolai, and between the Qatari pairing of Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan and Losiak & Bryl. USA’s Miles Partain & Andrew Benesh will join in as of the second leg later on Wednesday. The men’s Pool B will serve off at 16:00 (13:00) with a super clash between Mol & Sorum and Brazil’s Andre Stein & George Wanderley on centre court, while Germany’s Clemens Wickler & Nils Ehlers take on European champions Ahman & Hellvig. Carambula & Ranghieri will be the last team to join the action as they open their campaign in the last centre court match of the first competition day, against the Swedes, starting at 21:00 (18:00).  

QOC Secretary General meets with Oman Olympic Committee Secretary General

Doha: His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain, Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) met today with His Excellency Mr. Taha Al-Kishry, Secretary-General of the Oman Olympic Committee.  The meeting reviewed the areas of joint sports cooperation between the two sides and ways to develop them.  

Asian Lifters shine in Qatar Cup IWF Grand Prix 11 2023

DOHA -  The Qatar Cup IWF Grand Prix II 2023 Weightlifting Championships continued to be dominated by Asian athletes on the second day on Tuesday at Aspire’s Ladies Hall claiming podium places. China’s Huihua Jiang excelled in the women’s 49 kg division which had an impressive line-up of 23 athletes clinching the gold with a total lift of 216 kg. DPR Korea’s Song Gum Ri also demonstrated her strength and prowess claiming the silver medal with a total lift of 213 kg. China’s Zhihui Hou won the bronze with an impressive total of 209 kg. Both Hou and Jiang were impressive in the snatch. Hou, however, earned the gold in the snatch by lifting 96 kg while Jiang, who lifted the same weight, secured the silver. Ri won bronze with a lift of 93 kg. Despite finishing third in snatch, Ri stood out in the clean and jerk contest in the same weight class as the North Korean seized the gold with a powerful lift of 120 kg in her second attempt. Jiang claimed the silver, matching Ri’s weight but in her final attempt. Third place went to Hou, who lifted 113 kg. In the women’s 45 kg weight class, held simultaneously due, North Korea’s Hyun Sim Won secured the gold medal with an emphatic total lift of 181 kg. Won’s top show also included an 82 kg lift in the snatch competition and an impressive 99 kg in the clean and jerk. Philippines’ Rose Jean Ramos claimed the silver medal in the 45 kg category with a total lift of 155 kg, 70 kg in the snatch and 85 kg in the clean and jerk as Asian weightlifters swept all podium spots on the day. The Qatar Cup is also a qualifier event for 2024 Paris Olympics with over 400 lifters from 108 countries in action in Doha.