Sheikh Joaan attends IOC 141st Session

Mumbai - The QOC President and the ANOC Senior Vice President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the IOC 141st Session held today in Mumbai, India under the leadership of the IOC President H.E. Dr. Thomas Bach.  In attendance also were the IOC Executive Board members, the IOC members and Presidents of International Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees.   The meeting discussed a number of topics related to the Olympic movement development where the attendees thanked the state of Qatar for its contribution and support to the Olympic Refuge Foundation.  The QOC Secretary General H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain also attended the meeting.  Additionally, the QOC President and the ANOC Senior Vice President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the lunch banquet of the ANOC Executive Council held on the sidelines of the IOC 141st Session.

Qatar Participates in Hangzhou Asian-Para Games in China

DOHA  - The Qatari delegation for people with special needs is participating in the fourth edition of the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from Oct. 22-28. Assistant-Secretary of the Qatar Sports Federation for Special Needs, Abdul Qadir Al Mutawa headed the Qatari delegation for Hangzhou, which includes nine male and female players, four coaches, a technical director, a physical therapist, and a companion. The Qatari delegation is participating in the athletics competitions with three male and female athletes, Abdul Rahman Abdul Qader (shot put), Mohammed Rashid Al Kubaisi, Ali Arshad (100 meter and 200 meter wheelchair running competition), and Sarah Hamdi Masoud (shot put). The Qatari athlete also will participates in goalball competitions for the blind with six players: Walid Al Kooheji, Mohammed Al Mohammed, Mohammad Bashir Al Kahlot, Abdul Hadi Ali Al Marri, Abbad Walid Al Shamali, and Ikrami Ahmed. In statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Mutawa said that the players prepared well for the Hangzhou Asian Para Games by participating in intensive training and setting up internal camps.   

Asian Men's-Handball Qualification for Paris 2024 Kicks Off Wednesday

DOHA - The Asian Men's Olympic Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin on Wednesday in Doha. Eleven Asian teams will compete for a place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with the competition taking place in Al Duhail Handball Sports Hall The competition will take place between 18 and 28 Oct., with two round-robin groups in the preliminary round, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the semi-finals, extending their hopes for the coveted Paris 2024 Olympic Games ticket. Group A includes the teams of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the Emirates, India and China. Group B includes the teams of Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Japan, and Kazakhstan. Qatar begins its qualifying campaign on Wednesday facing China in the fifth match of the opening day, which also witnesses four other confrontations bringing together the UAE with South Korea, Bahrain with Kazakhstan, India with Saudi Arabia, and Iran with Japan. Qatar's second match will be against India on Oct. 19. In their third match, Qatar will take on the UAE on Oct. 21, followed by South Korea on Oct. 22. Qatar will conclude the group stage matches against Saudi Arabia on Oct. 24. Only the first-place finisher qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while the runner-up qualifies for a playoff spot next March. Qatar are aiming to obtain a qualification card for the Olympic Games for the second time, after having qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil, for the first time in the history of Qatari handball after obtaining first place in the qualifiers that were also held in Doha in 2015. The first and second of each group qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held on the 26th of Oct. in which the first of Group A will meet the second of Group B, and the first of Group B will meet the second of Group A, with the two winners qualifying for the final match on the 28th of the same month for the ticket qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This is the third time in a row that Qatar has hosted the Asian men's handball qualifiers for the Olympic Games. In 2015, Qatar hosted the Rio 2016 Olympic qualifiers. In 2019, Qatar hosted the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers.   

Marat Sharipov claims title of Qatar Men's ITF World Tennis Tour

Doha: Russia’s Marat Sharipov claimed the title of 4th Qatar Men's ITF World Tennis Tour organized by the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) in cooperation with International Tennis Federation (ITF) at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. In the final match of singles event held recently, Marat Sharipov defeated his compatriot Boris Pokotilov 2-0.  The medal ceremony was attended by the QTF Secretary General Tariq Zainal and Tournament Director Saad Al Mohannadi. The ITF Men's World Tennis Tour serves as the entry level for professional tennis as the results of ITF tournaments are incorporated into the ATP Ranking, which enables professionals to progress to the ATP Challenger Tour and, ultimately, the ATP Tour.  

Sheikh Joaan attends 35th meeting of Presidents of GCC Olympic Committees

Muscat - The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the 35th  meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies Presidents of the GCC Olympic Committees held today in Muscat, Oman. The meeting reviewed and discussed different topics on its agenda to enhance the GCC joint action in the field of sport. H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani thanked the Sultanate of Oman for hosting the meeting, which addressed many important topics and came out with some important decisions and recommendations. In attendance also were the QOC First Vice President H.E. Mr. Mohamed bin Yousef Al-Mana and the QOC Secretary General H.E. Mr. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain.

Stage set for WTT Feeder Series 2023

Doha: It's round two for the WTT Feeder Series in Qatar. After a huge event in January, we are back for more with WTT Feeder Doha II. Set to be staged from 17-19 October at Aspire Ladies Sports Hall, the entries are in and the battle lines have been drawn to see who will walk away as champion. Heading to Doha as top seed in the Men's Singles is Anders Lind. The Dane has been a breakout star of 2023. Lind started the year ranked at World No.158. Topping the draw in Qatar, the left-hander is now standing at No.29 in the world. Lind's daring and fearless style has paved the way to plenty of success. His dazzling and unpredictable shot-selection saw him take down the title at WTT Feeder Olomouc earlier this year. With a first international career title in the books, the 24-year-old will be out to keep riding the wave and find trophy number two in Doha. Looking for a quick reversal of fortune in Qatar will be Men's Singles 2nd seed Jonathan Groth. Groth is coming off a tough 11-9 in the fifth loss to Tom Jarvis at WTT Feeder Stockholm just two weeks ago. It was minor setback in what has otherwise been a solid year. Groth has two WTT Contender semifinal appearances under his belt in 2023 and will be favourite to make his first finals appearance of the year this week in Doha. Joining the two Danes in the top five seeds are Yang Wang, Daniel Habesohn and Kirill Gerassimenko. While both Habesohn and Gerassimenko have made WTT Feeder Series semifinal appearances this ranking period, this will be Wang's first showing in the series. In the Women's Singles Linda Bergstrom is 1st seed and is on the hunt for a maiden title. The Swede will be looking to bounce back after falling in the round of 16 to Margaryta Pesotska at WTT Feeder Stockholm a fortnight ago. But as finalist at WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro 2023, Bergstrom's defensive skills have proven they can withstand any onslaught. When the players hit the tables fans will also want to keep an eye out for 4th seed Chien Tung-Chuan. Doha will be Chien's seventh WTT Feeder Series appearance of the year. The 21-year-old lefty kicked off 2023 on the right foot, making the semifinal of WTT Contender Durban. Since then she has failed to find the similar form, but as 4th seed in Doha will be pressing for a spot on the podium.