Qatar beat South Korea in handball

Hangzhou: Qatar’s men’s handball team continued its dominant show at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday defeating South Korea 31-27 in a clinical show in their second Group B match at the at the Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre. Qatar lead 16-12 at half time after their players demonstrated high technical abilities by shooting from outside the circle and on the right and left sides. Youssef Ali and Mustafa Haiba in particular stood out. Qatar excelled in the second half as well especially in defence, relying on the “fast break” to challenge the speed of the South Korean players and succeeded in maintaining the goal difference with great defensive prowess. Qatar had begun their campaign by beating Hong Kong 36-18 in the opening match. Qatar player Wajdi Sinan said the team is focused on making it to the gold medal match. Against South Korea, he said that the players did not fall short and played with focus throughout. He added that the team came to China setting sights on the gold medal that it has won in the past two Asian Games. Player Youssef bin Alistressed that the team is looking forward to maintaining the momentum. “We realize the difficulty of the task with the presence of strong teams in this tournament, but with determination and persistence, we can win gold for a third time in a row,” he said. Qatar’s beach volleyball stars to battle for gold today On Thursday, Qatar’s beach volleyball stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will be gunning for their second consecutive Asian Games gold as they take on home favourites Abuduhalikejiang Mutailipu and Wu Jiaxin in the final. The World No. 3 - Younousse and Tijan- bronze medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, who brushed off the challenge from Kazakhstan’s Sergey Bogatu and Dmitriy Yakovlev 21-9, 21-19 in the semi-finals will start as favourites against Chinese pair Mutailipu and Jiaxin, who beat Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab 26-24, 21-16 in the second semi-final.  

Qatar’s athletics contingent reaches Hangzhou from Shanghai

Hangzhou: The Qatar athletics team touched down in Hangzhou on Tuesday for the Asian Games, after a preparatory camp in Shanghai. While Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Barshim was yet to arrive in China, the track athletes arrived before the competitions begin from Friday. Femi Ogunode will participate in 100 and 200m races, while Ashraf Hussein and Ismail Daoud are competing in 400m. Abu Bakr Haider (800m), Abdul Rahman Saeed (1500m and 800m), Mohamed Al Karni (1500 and 5000m), Yasser Salem (3,000m steeplechase and 5000m) will also be in action. The 400m hurdles world medalist Abderrahman Samba will make his comeback from injury at the Asian Games, with Bassem Abdelsalam Hamida also taking part in the same race. In the field event, apart from Barshim, Saif Din Abdul Salam Hamida will participate in pole vault. Moaz Ibrahim will participate in discus throw, while hammer throw will see Ahmed Al Saify and Ashraf Al Saifibattle for medals.  

Qatar to take on South Korea in handball event on Wednesday

Hangzhou - The Qatari handball team will face on Wednesday its South Korean counterpart in the Group B summit match within the Asian Games currently underway in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The Qatari team is looking forward to achieve a second victory in a row as it had won in the first round over Hong Kong 36-18, and the South Korean team had won also over Hong Kong 32-14. Therefore the match will be extremely important to decide the leader of the group. Meanwhile, the shooting competitions will continue on Wednesday with the skeet competitions in which Nasser Al Attiyah, Rashid Saleh, and Masoud Saleh will participate, as well as the skeet competitions at the women's level. The Qatari fencing team will compete on Wednesday at the team level against Macau, and the trio Abdullah Khalifa, Khaled Hussein and Ali Awaida will participate in the competition. In turn, the Qatari table tennis team will play tough matches at the doubles and singles levels on Wednesday, as the doubles team will play against Hong Kong in a strong match in the round of 64. On the individual level, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab will play with the Vietnamese player Dinh Anh Hoang, while Abdullah Abdel-Wahab will play with North Korean player Ham Yu Song in the round of 64 competitions. On the other side, the delegation of the Qatari athletics team arrived in Hangzhou on Tuesday, after the end of the preparatory camp held in Shanghai in preparation to participate on Wednesday in the competitions. The swimming competitions continued on Tuesday with the participation of Qatari national team players Hamza Shaalan in the 400m medley, Abdullah Al Khalidi in the 1500m freestyle. Abdullah Al Ghamri, Tamim Muhammad, Abdullah Al Khalidi and Ahmed Dhiyab participated in the 4 x 100 medley relay, while the Qatari national team swimmers will participate on Wednesday in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly events.   

Qatar get better of Thailand in 3x3 basketball event at Asian Games

HANGZHOU – Qatar 3x3 basketball team began  campaign in the  19th Asian Games Hangzhou on a high note,  securing  a narrow 16-12 win over Thailand  in their first pool D men’s game at the Deqing Geographic Information Park basketball court on Tuesday. Team Qatar’s  Ahmad Mohamad, Saad Omar, Hamad Mousa and Mohammed Abbasher scored a thrilling 16-12 victory, as Abbasher scored 7 points while Mousa, Saad and Ahmad scored 4, 3 and 2 points respectively. Qatar will play Kazakstan on Wednesday and Cambodia on Friday in other group stage matches.  Meanwhile, the basketball team slumped to a 63-95 defeat at the hands of Japan. Qatar hoopsters won the fourth quarter 22-21 but lost the first three 13-33, 21-23 and 7-18. They will face South Korea and Indonesia next. The Qatar basketball team is participating in 19th Asian games with a young team that  is preparing for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Doha.  

Team Qatar advance to beach volleyball final at Asian Games

HANGZHOU - Qatar’s ace beach volleyball pair of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan moved into the final of the event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Tuesday, raising hopes of Qatar’s first gold medal. The World No. 3ranked Younousse and Tijan beat Kazakstan’s Dmitry Yakovlev and Sergey Bogatu in straight sets 21-9, 21-19 in the semi-final in 34 minutes at the Ningbo Banbianshan Beach Volleyball Centre. The World No. 3 and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists had little trouble in the first set, but were given a stern test in the second by the Kazakh pair. “Our defense was working well today. We are more balanced in attacking and defense. But we need to do better in the next game,” said Tijan after the match. On Thursday, Younousse and Tijan will start as favourites against Chinese pair of Mutailipu Abuduhalikejiang and Jiaxin Wu, who beat Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab 26-24, 21-16 in the second semi-final. Qatar’s beach volleyball team manager Muhammad Anbar expressed delight at Younousse and Tijan qualifying for the final. He however stressed that the match wasn’t as easy, especially in the second half, pointing out that the experience of Qatar pair helped them overcome the opponents. He said: “Now we have one step ahead of us in the final against the Chinese and we are confident that with persistence and with determination of the supporters we shall fetch the gold medal. We are happy with this achievement and we hope to win the final against China, even though it is a difficult one, and get the gold medal.”  

Qatar Olympic Committee welcomes over 500 guests for reception at Hangzhou 2022

Hangzhou - A reception hosted by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), with the presence of renowned Team Qatar athletes, for over 500 guests, including many VIPs and friends from across the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Olympic Movement, was a resounding success. Held during the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, the Team Qatar Reception featured several of Qatar’s exceptional athletes who held an inspirational panel to share their aspirations for the Asian Games while offering guests the opportunity to ask questions or share their well wishes. The reception was attended by QOC leadership, as well as esteemed guests, including OCA Acting President Randhir Singh and Acting Director General Vinod Kumar Tiwari. They were joined by IOC Vice Presidents Ser Miang Ng and Juan Antonio Samaranch, and Executive Board Member HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, in addition to Chinese Olympic Committee Vice President, Hangzhou 2022 Organising Committee Secretary General and IOC Member Li Lingwei. Association of National Olympic Committees Secretary General and IOC Member Gunilla Lindberg also joined the celebrations. Also in attendance at the high-profile, vibrant celebration were a number of Asian NOC Presidents, as well as various Asian and International Federation Executive Board Members. Welcoming the esteemed guests, QOC Secretary General H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain stated: “We must reiterate our thanks once again to our Chinese colleagues for organising this excellent Games and bringing the best of Asia back together again. Just three days in, we have already witnessed so many fantastic races, matches and more. He added "We are honoured to host the 2030 Asian Games, and through Project Legacy, we are committed to working with all Asian NOCs to ensure they can send their best possible teams. We are confident in our ability to host a fantastic event, but we also look forward to learning from Hangzhou and China, who consistently host excellent sporting events." "There is of course a long way to go at these Games and a lot more sport to be played. But I wish you and all your teams the very best of luck over the coming days and weeks.” In particular, the Team Qatar Athletes’ panel featured Qatari athletes Abdulla Al-Tamimi, a professional squash player ranked among the top 29 in the world, and tennis player Hind Almudahka. Notably, Almudahka is the daughter of chess Grandmasters and former Qatar champions, Mohammed Almudahka and Zhu Chen. Her father, Mohammed Almudahka, also serves as the President of the Qatar Chess Federation. The reception also saw guests immerse themselves in a vibrant array of cultural activities and performances, which showcased the diverse cultures of both Qatar and China. These captivating activities were not just entertainment; they were powerful reminders of the profound bond between sport and culture, a bond that lies at the very heart of the Asian Games.