South Korea’s Pang wins three gold medals at Qatar Cup IWF Grand Prix II 2023

Doha: The Qatar Cup IWF Grand Prix II 2023 Weightlifting Championships got off to a big start at Aspire’s Ladies Hall on Monday with Un Chol Pang of South Korea making a golden sweep with three medals in the men’s 55kg weight class. An Asian Junior Championship bronze winner, 23-year-old Pang secured the snatch gold lifting 116 kgs, before dominating the the clean and jerk with a 152 kg lift. That took his total weight lift to 268 kgs as he completed a remarkable triple gold winning performance, without dropping a single weight lift. Indonesia’s Satrio Adi Nugroho put up a strong fight, earning three silver medals. Nugroho came second in the snatch category with 115 kg before securing and another second-place lift in the clean and jerk weight of 139 kg. His total lift was registered as 254 kg, earning him a trio of silver medals. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Dilanka Isuru Kumara won two bronze medals, lifting 133 kg in clean and jerk before achieving a total weight of 245 kg to finish third in the overall standings. He had a lift of 112 kg in snatch, where he finished fourth. Indonesian contender Muhamad Ibnul Rizqih claimed bronze in snatch with 113 kg lift.  

FIG Academy for Artistic Gymnastics Level III for coaches inaugurated

Doha: The FIG Academy for Artistic Gymnastics Level III for coaches was inaugurated on Sunday in the presence of Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) president Ali Ahmed al-Hitmi and Secretary-General Abeer al-Buanain among the dignitaries. The course, sponsored by the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU) and organised by QGF, was attended by 28 coaches from 12 countries from Asia, America and Europe and will run until December 9. The Level III Academy is the highest level for coaches in the world and is designed to provide coaches with the knowledge and skills they need to train elite gymnasts. The programme is open to coaches who have completed the Level II Academy. The one-week academy programme features theoretical and practical lectures in all aspects of artistic gymnastics, including kinesiology, sports psychology, sports nutrition, gymnastics injuries and training methods. All the participants will take theoretical and practical tests at the end of the course to assess their training level.

Volleyball Beach Pro Tour Finals to begin on Wednesday

Doha: The best of the best in the world of beach volleyball will get together in Doha to battle it out at the Volleyball Beach Pro Tour Finals, from December 6 through 9. The Qatari capital will welcome the prestigious event for the second time in a row, after holding the inaugural 2022 Finals in January this year, with Norway’s Anders Mol & Christian Sorum and USA’s Sara Hughes & Kelly Cheng triumphant in the men’s and the women’s competition, respectively. Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan of Qatar will take on world’s number nine, Poland’s Michal Bryl & Bartosz Losiak in their first match.  

Team Qatar line up for Asian Men’s Handball Championship

Doha: Qatar’s handball team will be in an overseas training camp in Bosnia from December 7th to 17th, as part of their preparation for the 21st Asian Men’s Handball Championship in Bahrain from January 11th to 22nd. The championship serves as a qualifier for the 2025 World Championship in Croatia, Denmark, and Norway. The delegation, led by Khalifa Al-Jassim, the assistant secretary-general of the Qatari Handball Association, includes team manager Youssef Al-Muallem, head coach Goran Jokic, and 22 players. During the camp, Qatar will play three friendly matches against teams from Slovenia, Montenegro, and Bosnia. In the 21st Asian Championship, team Qatar were drawn in Group 1 alongside Kuwait, Oman, and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams from each group advance to the main round, where eight teams will compete in a league format. The first and second-placed teams from each group will proceed to the semi-finals and qualify directly for the World Championship. In the previous edition of the Asian Championship held in Saudi Arabia, Qatar secured the title by defeating Bahrain 29-24 in the final match.  

IWF Grand Prix II-Doha 2023 gets underway

Doha: Fares Ibrahim – Qatar’s Olympic gold medalist at Tokyo Olympics – will be leading the home challenge in the IWF Grand Prix II-Doha 2023 weightlifting Olympic qualifier to be held at Aspire’s Ladies Hall from December 4-14. Qatar’s Olympic gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics Fares Ibrahim is scheduled to participate in the 102kg class. Ibrahim has already qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ibrahim qualified for the Summer Games in Paris next year when he featured in the World Weightlifting Championships held in Saudi Arabia recently. Nine Olympic gold medallists, nine current world champions and 13 world record holders will lift over the next two weeks in the Paris 2024 qualifier in Doha. There will also be a formidable DPRK team featuring three women who set world records eight weeks ago. There are a few notable absentees, including Lasha Talakhadze, Akbar Djuraev, Kuo Hsing-chun and Neisi Dajomes, and 14 strong contenders for the all-important top ten places in the rankings have opted to weigh in without lifting. But the second IWF Grand Prix of the year is not far away from World Championships standard. This is the fifth of seven qualifying opportunities for those hoping to compete in August at Paris 2024. One of those nine Olympic champions, Shi Zhiyong from China, stands 78th in the rankings at 73kg because injury has prevented him making from making a single lift in competition since he won in Tokyo. He has participated by weighing in but has no total. At last Shi, who won at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, is ready to return to the platform. In the absence of the two Indonesians who have starred in this category but are not among the 382 entries for the Grand Prix, Rahmat Erwin and Rizki Juniansyah, Shi’s main rivals are likely to be from across the world. European champion Ritvars Suharevs from Latvia has the highest entry total, while others expected to challenge for medals include world champion Weeraphon Wichuma from Thailand, Pan American champion Julio Mayora from Venezuela and the rapidly improving Tojo Andriatsitohaina from Madagascar, who spent many weeks this year at a training camp in China. Another Tokyo winner hoping to make a move in the rankings is Meso Hassona (Fares Elbakh) from the host nation at 102kg. He is sixth in the rankings on 391kg, and may need a few kilos more than that to make the top ten by the end of qualifying in April. Meso has the highest entry total of 400kg, a number made by only one man to date in qualifying, Liu Huanhua from China, whose entry is 10kg lower. PRK athletes cannot qualify for Paris because they missed too many competitions. If they perform as they did on their return at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China two months ago they could win plenty of medals and chase more world records. The women’s 49kg and 59kg categories in Doha would have been exceptionally strong without PRK’s presence. With world record holders Ri Gong Sum and Kim Il Gyong taking part, these two A Groups should be among the highlights of the competition. After Ri, Kim and Kang Hyon Gyong all broke world records in Hangzhou, helping PRK to top the medals table, China’s head women’s coach Wang Guoxin said China was no longer the world number one. “Now DPRK is ahead of us and we need to catch up,” Wang said. “The DPRK team at the Asian Games has delivered wonderful results… this is a healthy trend and we welcome it.” China’s women’s super-heavyweight multiple champion and record-breaker Li Wenwen is easing her way back from an injury sustained at the World Championships and has entered on 253kg, about 80kg below her best. There will be a fascinating American head-to-head here between Sarah Robles and Mary Theisen Lappen, who are separated by one place in the extended rankings. Those who have opted for weigh-in only include Mirabai Chanu from India and Beatriz Piron from Dominican Republic at 49kg, the Egyptians Neama Said and Sara Samir, and Brazilians Amanda da Costa and Laura Amaro. All of Iran’s top male contenders will weigh in without lifting, as will Safaa Rashid from Iraq, Karim Abokahla from Egypt, Jhonatan Rivas from Colombia and Gor Minasyan from Bahrain. Apart from China and PRK, Thailand also have a very strong team.

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 mascots unveiled

Doha: Many fans will remember the family of five desert rodents unveiled as the official mascots of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 from 2011. Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Traeneh will once again be the face of Asia’s most prestigious football tournament, after making their debut twelve years ago when Qatar last hosted the AFC Asian Cup. The familiar characters were presented as mascots for the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 at a special ceremony in Doha.    For Hassan Al Kuwari, Marketing and Communications Executive Director of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organizing Committee (LOC), the return of the mascots to this year’s edition of the tournament is a testament to a long legacy of excellence in hosting mega sporting events in Qatar.    “The mascots of the 2023 Asian Cup invoke wonderful memories from 2011, but also embody the excitement and energy of what will certainly be an amazing competition,” said Al Kuwari. “The five characters are inspired by Qatar’s natural environment and present us with yet another wonderful opportunity to showcase our culture and heritage to football fans from around the world.”    The characters are the creation of Qatari artist Ahmed Al Maadheed. When working on the characters, Al Maadheed wanted to attribute different characteristics to each of the family members, much like the different roles football players take on during a football match. The artist also wanted to create a set of characters that resemble a traditional household in Qatar, while paying tribute to all four corners of country.  “From the very beginning, we wanted to do something that inspired families and young people to be a part of the Asian Cup,” said Al Maadheed. “We wanted to do dig deep into our rich ecological heritage and find an animal that could represent the best of what happens on the pitch and also in our daily lives, and that was the jerboa.”    Al Maadheed added: “We decided to present a family of jerboas, each with its own distinctive personality, as a way of acknowledging the importance of teamwork in football, but also acknowledging the importance of family life to societies in Qatar.”    The characters have been brought to life for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 through an anime-inspired animation produced by Katara Studios. In the buildup to the event, and throughout the tournament, which takes place between 12 January and 10 February 2024, audiences will be treated to an animated work that invokes the nostalgia of iconic cartoons of the past. The animation was directed by Fahad Al Kuwari, with the song performed by Qatari artist Dana Al Meer and the legendary Tarek Al Arabi Tourgane.    The mascots of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 are Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Traeneh. Since first making an appearance 2011, they have grown up, matured, and are now ready for a new edition of the AFC Asian Cup.    The first in the series of five mascots is Saboog, the blue colored son of the family. His name is derived from the commonly used word to refer to the jerboa in Qatar. Second is Freha, the pink-colored eldest daughter of the family named after an area with the same name in the north of Qatar. Third is Tmbiki, a yellow-colored younger son named after the Timbic region in the east of the country. The parents are Zikriti and Traeneh, a green-colored father and a purple-colored mother respectively. They are named after Zikrit in Qatar’s west, and Tranaa in the north of the country.