Al Tamimi qualifies to QSF 4 2023 final

Doha: Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi qualified to final match of the QSF 4 2023 Bronze Level event in Doha after defeating second seeded Frenchman Victor Crouin in a five-game thriller on Thursday. In the semi-final, Al Tamimi staged a remarkable comeback after dropping the first game, ultimately securing a 3-2 victory with scores of 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8 in an hour-long thriller at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. In the final match, he will take on the top-seeded Egyptian Momen who demonstrated his dominance by dispatching compatriot Fares Dessouky in just 34 minutes with a convincing 3-0 win (11-5, 11-2, 11-9), setting up a thrilling climax to the event which offers a total prize pool of $50,000.  

Qatar lose to Bahrain in Asian Handball Olympic Qualifiers

Doha: Qatar missed the opportunity to secure a berth in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following a semi-final defeat against Bahrain in the Asian Qualifying Tournament at the Duhail Indoor Sports Hall on Thursday.  Qatar were done-in in the dying moments of the match 29-30 as Bahrain advanced to the title clash against Japan, who defeated South Korea 34-23 in the second semi-final. Qatar will take on South Korea in the third place play-off on Friday.  The winners of the Doha tournament secure ticket to Paris 2024 Games, while the runners-up will seal a place for the 2024 IHF Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments.  

Qatar to participate in Arab Swimming Championship

Doha: Team Qatar will participate in the Arab Swimming Championship to begin in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Friday. The event will bring together 119 swimmers from 17 countries including Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Morocco, and Iraq. Qatar Squad: Abdullah Al Khaldi, Mohamed Mahoud, Tamim Al Hamaida, Hamza Shaalan, Ahmed Diyab, Abdullah Al Ghamri, Mohamed Jelani, and Saif Al Burashid.

Qatar to take on Bahrain in semifinals of Asian Olympic Qualifiers

Doha: Qatar will take on Bahrain in the semifinals of Asian Handball Qualifiers for Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday. Qatar qualified to the semifinals with a comfortable 33-24 win over Saudi Arabia at Al Duhail Indoor Hall on Tuesday. The victory took Qatar’s points tally to 10 at the top of Group A as they maintained their perfect all-win record in the tournament.  Meanwhile Bahrain defeated Iran 28-24 to book the second spot in Group B, in the semi-final.  Group B leaders Japan will take on South Korea in the other semifinals match.  The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics, while the second placed team will play at the 2024 IHF Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments.  

Tamimi reaches QSF 4 semifinals

Doha: Qatar’s squash ace Abdulla Mohamed alTamimi booked a semifinal meeting against French World No 8 Victor Crouin in the QSF 4 Bronze level event at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, yesterday. The 28-year-old Qatari, seeded fifth, defeated Dimitri Steinmann in straight games (11-8, 11-7, 11-1), eliminating the No 4 seeded Swiss in 42 minutes as he maintained his impressive run at the home championship which boasts a substantial prize pool of $50,000. Crouin, meanwhile, made it to the last four by beating Egypt’s Omar Mosaad 3-0 (11-1, 13-11, 11- 8) in 40 minutes. Earlier, Egyptian Tarek Momen was made to sweat by his German counterpart, Raphael Kandra in a fiercely contested quarter-final match. Momen secured the victory after 50 minutes with a score of 3-1 (12-14, 11-8, 11-3, 11-6).  Fares Dessouky also secured his spot in the semi-fi nals by defeating Hungarian player Balazs Farkas. Dessouky spent only 36 minutes to wrap up the 3-0 victory with scores of 11-5, 11-8, and 11-9. Earlier yesterday in the second-round action wasn’t without its scares for the seeded players, though, with Dessouky having to battle from two games down to see off the threat of recent Asian Games gold medallist Abhay Singh. Singh, 25, looked to be progressing to the last-eight in Doha after taking the opening two games by an 11-8 scoreline before  World No 18 Dessouky clicked into gear, securing the final three games 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 to win the match in 59 minutes. Unseeded Indian Velavan Senthilkumar’s run in Doha was brought to an end by home favourite al-Tamimi, who ran away to victory in four games. Senthilkumar, who upset Pakistan’s Mohamed Asim Khan in round one, didn’t go down without a fi ght, narrowly losing the first game 11-9, before nicking the second on a tie-break. However, it was al-Tamimi who ended up taking the honours, winning the final two games to take the match in 41 minutes. There were no problems for the two top-seeded players of the event, Momen and Crouin, who both eased into the quarter-finals without dropping a game. Germany’s Kandra progressed past Addeen Idrakie in three games to set up a quarter-final clash with Momen, while No.4 seed Steinmann defeated Bernat Jaume to progress to the last eight and set up a date against al Tamimi - which the Qatari won later yesterday.

Qatar’s Rashid Al Athba wins skeet gold at Asian shooting

Changwon: Qatar’s Rashid Saleh Al Athba won gold after topping the man’s skeet finals at the 15th Asian Shooting Championship in Changwon, South Korea, on Wednesday. Al Athba went on to win the gold medal after scoring 53/60 and was followed by South Korea’s Minshu Kim, who shot 51/60. Chinese Taipei’s Meng Yuan Lee won bronze with a score of 42/50. Al Athba has already won a direct qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics in skeet which he claimed at the ISSF World Shotgun Championships 2022 in Osijek, Croatia. The 42-year-old has earlier competed in the men’s double trap at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the trap and double trap events at the 2012 London Olympics.