Qatar’s Al Nubi wins bronze medal in Arab Junior Athletics Championship

Muscat: Qatar’s Abdulrahman Al Nubi won the bronze medal in the 110m l hurdles on the opening day of the Arab Junior Athletics Championship which is held in the Sultanate of Oman until Sep.11th with the participation of 350 athletes representing 18 countries. Al Nubi finished the race in third place with a time of (14.24 seconds), behind Algerian Zuhair Al Din Qasimi, who ranked second with a time of (14.06 seconds), and his compatriot Louay Al Amrawi who won the gold medal with a time of (13.63 seconds).  

Qatar take on Myanmar in AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers

Changwon: Qatar will take on Myanmar in the second round of qualifiers for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup finals,  today  at  the  Changwon Complex Stadium in Gyeongsang, South Korea. Being  the  host  of  the  2024  tournament, Team Qatar's  results  will  not  count  towards   their   advancement.   However,  today's  game  holds  more   significance   than   just   securing a victory for Qatar. Under the guidance of Portu-guese  coach  Ilidio  Vale,  who  recently  took  over  from  fellow  Portuguese Bruno Pinheiro, the Qatari team is aiming to build on their strong performance in their previous  match  in  which  they  impressed with a 2-0 win against hosts South Korea, the defending champions. This victory propelled Qatar to the top of their group with 3  points,  as  Kyrgyzstan  and  Myanmar played to a 1-1 draw in the  same  group.  Coach  Vale  is  relying on a talented roster, led by striker Tamim Mansour Muftah and Ahmed Al Rawi, along with midfielders Osama Al Tiri, Abdul Rahman Raafat, and Muhammad Ayyash, as well as defender Jassim Jaber. The  team  completed  their  preparations  with  a  rigorous  training session, where all players showed excellent spirits and high-performance levels, gearing up for a   standout   showing   in   the   upcoming match.The tournament serves as a qualifying event for the football competition at the Paris Olympics  

Qatar lose to Kenya in a friendly match

Doha: Qatar suffered a disappointing 1-2 defeat to Kenya in an international friendly at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday which was watched by more than 15,000 fans.  Coach Carlos Queiroz fielded a slightly experimental starting lineup for the match and Asian champions looked off colour for the most part. The hosts fell behind in the 20th minute after Joseph Okumu’s headed into the net off a cross from Kenneth Muguna. Qatar equalised in the 34th minute when Hassan Al Haydos converted a penalty.  But the Harambee Stars clinched a win as Al Duhail star Michael Olunga orchestrated a brilliant assist to Amos Nondi, who netted the winning goal in the stoppage time.  Qatar will now turn their attention to friendly against Russia, which will also be played at the Al Janoub Stadium on September 12.  

Qatar U-18 basketball 3x3 team ranked No 3 in the world

Doha: The Qatar U-18 basketball team has been ranked third in the world after a very successful round in the 3x3 U-18 World Championship in Hungary. The ranking was topped by Germany, which ranked first with 249,173 points. Thailand came in second place with a total of 218,456 points. Qatar team finished as third collecting 191,325 points, considered a new achievement for Qatari basketball, which has been providing continuous successes during this period. Previously, the men’s youth team topped the Asian team rankings and was ranked third globally behind Germany and Estonia. Qatar’s U-18 women’s national team topped the 3×3 competitions and took first place in the world team rankings with 129,617 points, and the Germany team came in second place. The classification of players witnessed the presence of our player Mustafa Ndaw in tenth place in the U18 3x3 world rankings after participating with Al Anabi in the U18 3x3 World Championship, providing excellent levels during the tournament. In turn, Hamad Musa jumped to 11th place in the U-18 x 3 world rankings after participating with Qatar in the U-18 3 x 3 World Championship, which was held in Hungary. Qatar’s national 3×3 basketball team under 18 years of age performed wonderfully in the World Cup tournament and lost its last match against the French team for the quarter-finals, in the tournament that was held over five days in Hungary. Team Qatar reached the quarter-finals after its team, consisting of the quartet Azzam Abu Sneina, Fahd Muhammad Al-Aujan, Hamad Yassin, and Mustafa Ndaw, presented high levels and its stars shined until the quarter-finals after achieving victory over both Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last two rounds of the group stage.  

Qatar gear up for Kenya friendly

Doha: Asian champions Qatar will meet Kenya in an international friendly at the Al Janoub Stadium today at 6.15pm. The Asian champions will also face Russia on September 12 in their second friendly at the same venue. Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz, who tested young players at the Gold Cup earlier this year and reached the quarter-finals, has recalled experienced forwards Hassan al-Haydos, Akram Afif besides defenders Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel, midfielders Karim Boudiaf and Abdulaziz Hatem. Goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb also made a return in the 26-player squad for the two games. Qatar will be seeking an improved performance as Queiroz looks to finalise his squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign next month. The Al Annabi are grouped with India, Kuwait and the winner of the Round 1 tie between Afghanistan and Mongolia. Queiroz will also lead Qatar’s title defence of the Asian Cup, which Qatar will host from January 12 to February 10, 2024. Speaking on the eve of the match, the Portuguese coach Queiroz said: “We are seeking an improved performance in our friendly matches. The players are fully prepared and looking for good performance in these matches. We are ready for the match against Kenya and the challenges next month before starting our joint qualifying event (FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027),” he added. The veteran coach called on fans to come in numbers and support the national side. “Fans are part of the teams and their backing gives extra motivation to the players,” Queiroz said. Striker Almoez Ali said the players are getting used to Queiroz’s methods. “Our preparations have gone well for the friendlies. These games will definitely help the players gain more experience. We are making progress under our coach after each match. We had a very good Gold Cup experience under him and the training camp (in Austria) prior to that was also beneficial. These games will be a continuation before the qualifiers and the Asian Cup. We must play the games with fighting spirit and give our best.” Meanwhile, Kenya’s challenge will be spearheaded by Al Duhail’s prolific striker Michael Olunga. The Harambee Stars, coached by Engin Firat said his team was more than just about Olunga. “Qatar are the Asian champions and it’s important to play against these kind of teams so that we show who we are. We have to show character to represent our country because this is not a normal friendly as we are up against a higher ranked side,” Firat said on Wednesday. “It is also about that we show that Kenyan football is not only Michael Olunga, so that we also open doors for more players to show that Kenyan football is bigger.” Kenya, who will also play a friendly against South Sudan on September 12, are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where they will face Seychelles, Burundi, Gambia, Gabon, and Cote d’Ivoire in their group.  

Qatar defeat hosts South Korea in U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers

Changwon: Qatar kicked off their AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qual-ifiers   campaign   in   style   blanking hosts South Korea 2-0 in their opening Group  B  match  at  Changwon    Football    Center    yesterday.     The match saw  the  visitors  stunning  the  home  crowd  in  the  38th minute when forward Ahmed Al Rawi broke the deadlock to put Qatar 1-0 ahead. The Young Taeguk Warriors showed determination and grit in  the  second  half  but  despite  chances  to  get  back  into  the  game, just could not find a way past Yousef Abdullah in Qatar’s goal. Qatar took advantage to add a second via Tameen Mansour Alabdulla in the 68th minute to seal the victory. Korea Republic will aim to get their first points when they meet Kyrgyz Republic on Saturday while Qatar will look to maintain their winning    momentum    against    Myanmar. Qatar will play their last match of the  single  round-robin  tournament against Kyrgyzstan on September 12.Earlier,  it  was  a  belter  of  an  opening  match  in  Group  B  as  Myanmar  and  Kyrgyz  Republic  played out an entertaining 1-1 draw to  claim  their  first  point  in  the  Qualifiers. Myanmar, who are aiming to make a return to a Finals they last featured in back in 2013, struck the opening goal through Kaung Htet Paing in the 23rd minute to give Aung Naing’s side the lead at half time. Kyrgyz Republic came out the better side in the second half and eventually found  their  equaliser  through    defender    Khristiian    Brauzman  in  the  52nd  minute  to  secure a valuable point.