OCA nominates Barshim, two others for new Athletes Committee

Kuwait: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced the names of Qatar’s world high jump and Asian and Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim along with Indian luge legend Shiva Keshavan and Japan’ high jumper Naoto Tobe as three additional members on the newly-elected OCA Athletes’ Committee. At the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8, the athletes voted for nine members of the committee in the first athlete elections in OCA history. As there was no male candidate from South Asia, the OCA appointed Indian Shiva Keshavan, a six-time Winter Olympian starting from Nagano 1998 through to PyeongChang 2018, to fill this gap. In addition, the OCA has appointed two members from the hosts of the next two Asian Games – Japan’s Naoto Tobe and Qatar’s Olympic and Asian Games champion Mutaz Barshim. In a circular to the OCA’s National Olympic Committees and Executive Board members, Acting President Raja Randhir Singh said: “As you are aware, during the Hangzhou Asian Games, the elections for the Athletes Committee were held, wherein the athletes voted and elected their fellow athletes to be members of the OCA Athletes Committee. “In addition, since there was no nomination for male athlete from South Asia, the OCA has nominated a Winter male athlete to be part of the Committee. “Also, as per the guidelines, two athletes have been selected from the host country of the 20th Asian Games (Japan) and 21st Asian Games (Qatar). “Shortly, an online meeting of the Athletes Committee will be called to introduce the members.” OCA Athletes’ Committee East Asia: Chun Ho Lee - HKG (male), Ning Ding - CHN (female) Southeast Asia: Tay Terry – SGP (male), Ng Shayna - SGP (female) South Asia: Saina Nehwal - IND (female), Shiva Keshavan – IND (male - Nominated Winter Sports) Central Asia: Merdan Atayev - TKM (male), Zulhumar Dashkinova - TKM (female) West Asia: Husein Alireza - KSA (male), Julyana Al Sadeq – JOR (female) Nominated Members: Naoto Tobe (Japan) – Host country of 20th Asian Games, Mutaz Barshim (Qatar) – Host country of 21st Asian Games. The members will select a Chair and Vice Chair of the new OCA Athletes Committee for the term 2023-2026.  

GCC 3X3 Basketball C’ship at Al Gharafa Hall from today

Doha: The GCC 3X3 Basketball Championship tournament will start on Friday (November 3) in partnership with Expo 2023 Doha at the Al Gharafa Sports Hall with the participation of six teams—two each from Kuwait, Oman, and hosts Qatar. The two-day tournament is taking place as part of the agreements between the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) and the Organizing Committee of Expo 2023 Doha. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Deputy Director of Qatar National Basketball Teams Yassin Ismail said that Qatar is happy to host the tournament, which is being held again for the first time since 2015. “It is good to have the tournament back, and I believe all the participating teams will give it their best shot. You would notice that we don’t have the other Gulf countries around this time around, and it is because they are already in the middle of their season and it is quite difficult to have them join us at the moment. But all the same, we look forward to an exciting time with the participating teams,” he said. Yassin said that Qatar will be represented by Teams A and B, with the teams comprising the recently concluded Asian Games silver-winning players including Omar Saad, Hashim Zidane, Ahmed Saeed, and Nadeem, while the Qatar team includes Abdullah Yassin, Bobo Magasa, Faisal Abu Issa, and Muhammad Ndo. He noted that Qatar’s team will be in high spirits at the tournament, and they will be further buoyed by their qualification for the 2024 FIBA U-19 World Cup, which was announced this week after being ranked fifth globally. “After achieving silver at the Asian Games in China and the fifth place of the under-18 team in the world, we have raised the ceiling of ambitions to the highest, as the strategy that has been drawn up now is to return the team to the global stage to attain more achievements and prepare in the best way for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and compete for one of the medals, especially since we have very good players who can give us the needed results,” Yassin added. Dr. Khaled Al Qahtani, Chairman of the Media Committee of the Qatar Basketball Federation, was also present. There was a slight change in schedule with games on Saturday starting at 1pm and the final at 3pm.  

Beach Handball Global Tour Finals to begin in Doha Tomorrow

Doha: The Beach Handball Global Tour Finals will be begin in Doha tomorrow. Organized by Qatar Handball Association, the two-day event will take place at Al Gharafa beach stadiums. In this fourth stage of the 2023 tour, four men's teams and four women's teams will take part. The men's tour will see the participation of hosts Qatar along with Tunisia, Brazil and Denmark, while in the women's competition Brazil, Tunisia, Poland and China will participate. The men's and women's winners in Doha will be crowned the 2023 Beach Handball Global Tour champions. 

Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy to begin on Friday

Doha:  The Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy for men and women will kick off on Friday. Organized by the Qatar Rugby and Hockey Committee at Al Ersal pitch in Onazia, the two-day trophy will see all group stage matches for the men's and women's categories staged tomorrow, while the final rounds of the competition held on Saturday. The event's champion in the men's and women's categories qualifies to the Asian Series competitions that will be held next year and qualify for the 2027 Rugby Sevens World Cup. A record number of teams will participate in the tournament for the first time in Doha. 22 teams, 15 men's teams and 7 women's teams, will be split into two groups. In the men's category, Qatar team was drawn in the second group alongside the teams of Thailand, Iran, Jordan, India, Iraq, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The first group included Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. As for the women's category, the draw placed Qatar team in the second group alongside the UAE, Iran, and Uzbekistan, while the first group were India, Guam, and Mongolia. Qatar men's team includes 13 players in preparation for the Asian challenge led by South African coach Warren Abrahams. Qatar women's team is 14 players led by Tunisian coach Ikhlas Abida. Headed by Secretary General of the Qatar Rugby and Hockey Committee Abdullah Aman Al Khater, the tournament's organizing committee has completed all preparations for the launch of this important Asian event.  

Curtain comes down on Second Qatar Asian Junior Tennis Tournament

The second Qatar Asian Junior U14 tournament was concluded at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex recently. Abubakar Talha of Pakistan claimed the title of boys' singles event after beating Ansar Niyetkaliyev of Kazakhstan 7-5 6-3 in the final match. This was the second title for Abubakar Talha after winning first Qatar Asian Junior Tennis Tournament.  Rama Ahmad Ebrahim of Egypt hoisted the trophy of girls' singles event after defeating Ailin Makhanbetaliyeva of Kazakhstan 6-2 6-0 in the final match. Moreover, Ansar Niyetkaliyev and Zhantore Sanzharuly of Kazakhstan won boys doubles title while, Aruzhan Bayalina and Ailin Makhanbetaliyeva of Kazakhstan took first place in girls doubles.  The medal ceremony was attended by the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation Secretary General Tariq Zainal.  

Italian duo claim title of FIP RISE Qatar Tournament

DOHA -  Italian duo Dominigaz Faquindo and  Aris Patiniotis produced  a solid performance to win the first edition of FIP RISE Qatar Tournament 2023 , which took place at Khalifa International  Tennis & Squash Complex.  The Italian duo edged out  their Egyptian counterparts  George Wakeem and Hossam Yousef with two sets 6-1 and 6-2 in the final game. The  week long tournament brought together 14 teams to compete for the top honors in this inaugural event.