Olympic team to take Japan in football at Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games

Hangzhou - Qatar’s  Olympic team will shake hands with Japanese counterparts on  Wednesday in football event of   Hangzhou 2022  Asian Games , which will run from 23rd  September to  8th of October. Qatar’s Olympic team is looking  to  open their  campaign  in football event on high note  to  keep their  qualification hope  to  the second round through group D alive. Most notably, HE Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain, President of the Qatar Football Association, and Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee, attended the final training session of Qatar’s Olympic football team in Hangzhou on Tuesday. 

Team Qatar Stars line up for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games

Hangzhou- Team Qatar stars participating in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou are preparing to kick-off their journey towards winning gold medals and fill the podiums with the start of the competitions on Tuesday. Qatar’s beach volleyball team (2), consisting of Mahmoud Essam and Abdullah Naseem, will begin their journey on Tuesday facing South Korea (1). The group also includes the teams of Iran (2) and Macau (1). The Qatari beach volleyball team is participating with two teams. The Qatar (1) team includes Ahmed Tijan and Sherif Younis. The draw placed the team alongside Indonesia (2) and the Philippines (2). Qatar Team (1) will begin its matches on Wednesday against Indonesia, while on the same day, Qatar (2) will face Iran (2). On Thursday, Qatar (2) will face Macau (1), while Qatar (1) will face the Philippines (2) on Friday. The Qatari beach volleyball team currently occupies third place in the world rankings with 6,580 points, which was earned during the participation in eleven tournaments and world tours in the recent period. Regarding the draw, Mohammed Anbar of the Qatari beach volleyball team, said that Qatar (1) and (2) will face teams that they already competed against in the past except for Macau. He added that the players are ready and preparing for the tournament with great strength especially since the team has played many matches, major tournaments and camps in preparation for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou. In a related development, the Qatari volleyball team will conclude its training on Tuesday in preparation for facing Thailand on Wednesday, at the opening of the volleyball competitions of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou. As for the football competitions, the Qatar team will conclude its training on Tuesday in preparation for the expected confrontation on Wednesday against Japan, where the team will aim to achieve a win to qualify for the next round. The Qatari football team is well prepared for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou after participating in the AFC U-23 Cup qualifiers in South Korea, in which the team won all three matches it played. On the other hand, the Qatari sailing team began its preparations immediately after the delegation arrived in China, as it aims to give the best possible performance despite the strong competition. The Qatari sailing team consists of the duo Faris Al Bakri and Ahmed Al Mulla, who have good experience through previous participations. Al Bakri and Al Mulla partook in serious training on Monday as the sailing competitions will begin on Wednesday and will continue until September 26. The Qatari delegation of the 19th Asian Games includes 182 male and female athletes competing in 27 sports. They are aiming to obtain a tally of medals that reflect the great development that sports have witnessed in Qatar. During the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games, Qatar won 13 medals: 6 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 3 bronze medals.  

Qatar to take on Iran in FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2023

Doha: Qatar national basketball team will take on Iran in FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2023 on Tuesday.  The event is held in Doha until September 24.  Despite of another impressive performance by Qatar captain Mohamed Ndao, Japan managed to beat the hosts 93-68 to join New Zealand in clinching direct tickets to quarter-finals yesterday.  Ndao scored 32 points and made 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, but the visitors' 22-point first quarter lead was too much for Qatar to catch up.   

Stage set for FIBA U16 Asian Basketball Championship 2023

Doha: The Basketball Federation (QBF) is set to host the FIBA U16 Asian Basketball Championship   2023   which   gets   underway at Al Gharafa Club Hall today. As many as 16 teams are taking part in the competition eyeing the trophy on September 24 when the final will be played. The details of the event were announced at a press conference attended by the QBF President Mohammed Saad Al Mughaiseeb, Asian Basketball Federation Secretary General Hagop Kagerian,  the QBF  Secretary  General  Saadoun  Sabah Al Kuwari and Chairman of Media Committee Dr. Khalid Al Qahtani. “It is the second time that Qatar is hosting this event. We are looking forward to continue hosting events for youngsters who are future of the sport,” Al Mughaiseeb said yesterday.  Meanwhile, Kagerian thanked the QBF for their efforts in hosting the tournament, saying the tournament is expected to throw up exciting games in presence of talented players who rep-resent their clubs. Speaking on Qatar U-16 team’s readiness for tournament, Al Kuwari said the national team is well prepared and looking to achieve best results. Qatar are in Group B along with of Iran, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Farag beats Elias to clinch his third Qatar Classic title

DOHA - Ali Farag won his third QTerminals Qatar Classic title on Saturday after beating Diego Elias 3-1 (15-13, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9) in a gripping final at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex. Ahead of the match, much had been made of the World No 1’s dominant 19-3 head-to-head record over Elias, with the Peruvian’s sole win since 2017 coming when Farag was forced to retire hurt in the final of last year’s US Open. Despite Farag’s superior record, it was Elias who started the opening game better, with the 26-year-old accurate at the front as he took the first five points of the final. Farag responded by pushing up the court and flipped the momentum, taking ten of the next twelve points to earn three game balls at 10-7. Elias dug in well to save all three, forcing a tie break at 10-10. After three more game balls for Farag, and one for Elias, it was the Egyptian who managed to break the deadlock, clinching a brutal 26-minute first game 15-13. The bruising nature and finale of the first game appeared to have sapped the strength from Elias’ legs in the second, with the Peruvian struggling badly against Farag’s relentless pressing as the top seed doubled his lead with a comfortable 11-5 win. Game three was a more even contest, with Elias moving far better than in the second game. Farag, who appeared to be closing in on a second title of the season at 8-5 up, then allowed Elias back into the contest, with the World No 1 making an uncharacteristic number of errors as a resurgent Elias forced his way into the contest with an 11-8 win. There were more worrying signs from Farag early in game four, with the Egyptian – who appeared fatigued – making more errors as Elias dominated play to take the first three points.  The Egyptian, however, was able to claw back momentum, finding a second wind and going on the hunt as he reeled in ‘the Puma’s’ lead before bringing a thrilling final to an end with an 11-9win. For both Elias and Farag, attention turns to the Platinum-level US Open, which takes place which takes place between 07-14 October in Philadelphia’s Arlen Specter US Squash Center. Afterwards, Farag said: “I had to put in a world class performance to be able to compete with Diego. He’s such a champion, the way he’s been playing these last couple of years. This week he’s been phenomenal, and I don’t need to talk about his squash because it speaks volumes about itself. “He’s a true champion. To call a tin against himself at 12-12 when we’re going for the No 1 spot and the referee hadn’t called it speaks volumes about the character he is and I really appreciate sharing a court with him and I look forward to many more [finals] together in the future. It doesn’t get any better than this. I had a lot of the people I care for and who care about me in my corner. The crowd lifted me up all week.” Farag added a moving tribute to wife and women’s World No 8 Nour El Tayeb: “The one person I want to thank the most and is my inspiration every day is Nour. The way she juggles between being a great mother, a great wife, a great squash player, a great daughter and a great friend, everything is about her is admirable. I am grateful to be witch such a person day in and day out.” Elias added: “I’m not very happy with the result, but I’m actually very happy with the way I ended up fighting at the end of the match. I’m just happy I’m getting closer and hopefully next time I get the title. I’ve been improving match by match, tournament by tournament and I didn’t finish too badly. I’m just excited for the next one and hopefully I can fight for another title soon.”

Team Qatar edges out Saudi Arab in FIBA U16 Asian Basketball Championship

DOHA -  Qatar national basketball team beat Saudi national team 91-82 (24-23, 21-17, 27-22,19-20) in its first match in group B competitions of the first round of the FIBA U16 Asian Basketball Championship 2023 hosts by Doha until Sep. 24 with the participation of 16 teams. The event qualifies for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Qatar topped the overall group standings with two points and a difference in goals scored, ahead of Iran, which came in second place, while Japan and Saudi Arabia ranked third and fourth, respectively, each with a point. Qatar team will face Japan on Monday in its second group match, while the Saudi team will play against Iranian counterpart. The winners of the four groups qualify for the quarter-finals.