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.

Team Qatar all set for Jumping and Dressage events at Asian Games in China

DOHA- Qatar equestrian team will participate in the jumping and dressage competitions, as part of the 19th Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou, China from Sep. 23 to Oct. 8. The jumping team includes riders Bassem Hassan Mohammed, Faleh Al Ajmi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, and Rashid Towaim Ali Al Marri, while the dressage team includes Maryam Al Buainain, Jassim Al Kuwari, Maryam Al Sumait and Saud Al Buainain. Qatar won 13 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze) in the previous tournament which was held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia in 2018 where the equestrian team won the bronze medal in the team showjumping competition. 

Egypt's Hania El Hammamy Wins 2023 QTerminals Qatar Classic

Doha: Hania El Hammmay is the 2023 QTerminals Qatar Classic champion after beating Egyptian compatriot and World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in an incredible final 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 (84m) at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex. This year marked the long-awaited return of the womens event, which was last played in 2015. The pair went into todays final well aware of each others strengths, having met four times two of which came in finals in the last 12 months, with the record 2-2 apiece. The opening game began with watchful rallies before sparking into life as both players upped the pace, with El Sherbini clinching the lead with an 11-9 win. The second game was equally frenetic as El Hammamy responded with an 11-9 win of her own to pull level. In a back-and-forth third game, in which neither player was able to consistently hold the momentum, the World No.1 regained the lead, taking the game by 11-9. Incredibly, the fourth game ended 11-9 too, with El Hammamy taking advantage of a number of El Sherbini errors to draw level for the second time and force a deciding game. In a scarcely believable finale, the 23-year-old came charging out, moving more quickly than at any other point in the match as she raced into a 9-1 lead against a stunned El Sherbini. El Sherbini famed for her ability to pull off seemingly impossible victories, briefly threatened to mount an incredible comeback as she started chipping away at the World No.3s lead, but El Hammamy was able to cling on, collapsing to the ground as she sealed the title with an 11-6 victory in the final game. For both El Sherbini and El Hammamy, attention turns to the U.S. Open, which takes place between 07-14 Oct.   

Qatar’s Olympic hero Fares seals Paris Games berth

Riyadh : Reigning Olympic champion Fares Ibrahim booked his ticket to next year’s Paris Games after achieving a 388kg mark at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, yesterday. The 25-year-old Qatari, who elevated his weight category to 102kg, had a lift of 218kg in clean & jerk, taking silver medal in the contest. He lifted 170kg in snatch finishing on overall seventh position in the competition. China’s Liu Huanhua won the gold with an overall mark of 404kg followed by South Korea’s Jang Yeon-hak (399kg) and Belarusian Yauheni Tsikhantsou (394kg). In Tokyo Olympics two years ago, Fares shattered two Games records as he became Qatar’s first ever Olympic gold medallist. He set new marks for the clean and jerk (225kg) and total lift (402kg). Fares will now compete in the Asian Games starting in Hangzhou from September 23.

Team Qatar athletes line up for Asian Games

Shanghai: Qatar's national Athletics team began their intensive training camp in Shanghai, as they gear up for their participation in the 19th Asian Games to take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 08, 2023.  The national team's training program is set to run until September 27, following which the Qatari delegation will fly to Hangzhou to partake in the athletics competitions to begin on September 28.  The Qatar Athletics Federation unveiled a roster of 14 accomplished athletes in various track and field disciplines, spearheaded by the Olympic and world champion, Mutaz Barshim, who will be vying for top honors in the high jump event.  The remaining members of the national team are, Femi Ogunode (100m and 200m), Ashraf Hussein, Ismail Dawood (400m), Abu Bakr Haydar (800m), Abdulrahman Saeed ( 1500m and 800m), Mohammed Al-Garni ( 1500m and 5000m), Yaser Salem (3000m steeplechase and 5000m), Saif al-Din Abdul Salam ( pole vault),  Muaz Ibrahim (discus throw),  Ahmed Al-Seify, Ashraf Al-Seify  (hammer throw), Abdulrahman Samba and Bassem Hemeida (400m hurdles). 

Amanda Sobhy shocks top seed Gohar in QTerminals Qatar Classic

Doha: USA’s Amanda Sobhy raised the roof a little at the Khalifa Inernational Tennis & Squash Complex on Wednesday as she sensationally dispatched the top-seeded and World No.2 Nouran Gohar in straight games to make the women’s semi-finals of QTerminals Qatar Classic.   The 30-year-old Sobhy, who has played out a number of fiery encounters with Gohar in recent seasons, came into the match on the back of a nine-match losing record against ’the Terminator’.   Early on in game one, Gohar looked likely to extend this record, with the Egyptian earning four game balls at 10-6.  The American, however, responded emphatically, scoring six consecutive points to stun Gohar.  The World No.5 picked up where she left off in game two, attacking confidently and taking on Gohar’s famed power as she doubled her lead with an 11-9 win.  In a scarcely believable third game, Sobhy was simply unstoppable, firing past a shell-shocked Gohar as she conceded just a single point to complete the rout in 32 minutes.  “It was a long time coming, we’ve played a lot of times and our head-to-heads have been close, but since 2019 she’s beaten me,” said Sobhy. “Every time I play her, I’m not afraid anymore. I want to play her because it gives me that much more confidence going in against her.  “I was excited to know that I was going to face again here in Qatar after last week in Paris. I learned a lot in Paris and I translated it into Qatar, hopefully you can see a different version of me, especially emotionally. I’m so pumped.  “I sometimes get off to a slow start and with her pace it’s easy to get blown out of the court, but even when I was 10-6 down, I felt like I was still in it and I just thought that I had nothing to lose.  “It felt very relaxed and I just wanted to go out there and take it to her and I’m just glad it paid off.”  On her telephone celebration, she added: ”I saw that at the US Open, Ben Shelton did it, then [Novak] Djokovic did it on Shelton and I just absolutely love the savageness of it, so when I saw that happen I was like, ‘I have to do it, I have to do it’. So, it might be getting old, but I’m going to roll with it – it’s working.”  In another upset, Tinne Gilis mounted another impressive comeback as she overcame World No. 12 Salma Hany to reach the semi-finals of a Platinum event for the first time in her career.  The Belgian was second best in game one, with Hany too strong on the attack as the Egyptian took the lead with an 11-6 win in game one.   Just as she did in her 3-2 round three win against Joelle King, Gilis responded to a disappointing performance with a much better showing.  The World No.10 adjusted well, denying Hany – whose concentration began to wane – chances in the middle to level and then pull ahead with11-7 and 11-6 wins.  Later, World No.1 Nour El Sherbini avenged her shock El Gouna defeat to Nele Gilis with a thumping 3-0 win over the Belgian.  Earlier, World No. 3 Hania El Hammamy defeated England’s Georgina Kennedy to earn her spot in the semi-final.  ElShorbagy overcomes Ibrahim in five games  In the first men’s round three match of day five in the QTerminals Qatar Classic, England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy beat Youssef Ibrahim in an 81-minute epic 3-2 (6-11, 11-6, 16-14, 8-11, 11-7) while Mazen Hesham defeated his fellow Egyptian Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 to book their places in the quarter final.  Later in the day, Diego Elias defeated Youssef Soliman in straight games to earn his spot in the next round.  ElShorbagy and Ibrahim had met twice before at the Qatar Classic in 2020 and 2021, with Ibrahim winning on both occasions. ‘The Beast’ won their last match-up in the third round of this year’s PSA World Championships.  ElShorbagy said: “It was very hard for me today. Everything I do in my career, I still learn. He’s beaten me three times in a row and at a time in my career that was very difficult. Don’t get me wrong, he’s unbelievable and the talent he possesses on court – he’s unique.”