Qatar win two more gold medals on second day of West Asia Athletics Championship

Doha: Qatari athletes continued to excel at the West Asia Athletics Championship clinching two more gold medals on the second day at Suheim bin Hamad Stadium yesterday. Qatari sprinters made a sweep of gold medals in 400m races with Sajja Essa Sadoun winning the women’s contest with a time of 59.65 secs. Lebanese duo of Maria Nehra (59.79) and Lain Ghazawi (1:00.57) completed the podium. It was a one-two in men’s 400m race for Qatar with Ammar Ismail Yahya reigning supreme after clocking 46.23 secs. Ashraf Hussain sealed silver medal for the home side in 47.33 while Iraq’s Yasser Ali took bronze with a time of 47.35. Also yesterday, Qatar’s Mubarak Rabi Mehmood claimed bronze medal in men’s 800m after finishing behind gold medalist Abdullah Al Yaara (1:49.64) of Yemen and Oman’s Hussain Mohsin, who took silver with a time of 1:50.14. Jibrine Ahmed won another bronze for Al Annabi, clearing a distance of 17.55m in men’s shot put. Bahrain’s Abdurrahman (20.65) and Iraq’s Mohamed Baqar (17.55) clinched the first two spots respectively. Qatar’s tally reached to six gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the end of second day with two days left in the event.  

Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain: We are proud that Qatar will host the FIBA Basketball World Cup - Doha 2027 for the first time in the region

H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee and President of Qatar 2027 stressed that winning the rights to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup – Doha 2027 adds to Qatar's ongoing accomplishments across all fields, expressing his pride in hosting the championship in the region for the first time. On this occasion, H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain, said: “First of all, we would like to congratulate His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, and the State’s wise leadership on the success of our bid. This historic achievement was made possible because of the tremendous efforts of the team alongside the support of our national partners and stakeholders who worked under the directives and close follow-up of His Excellency Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, throughout this process.” “Building on a series of firsts in sport for our region, we are proud to have been awarded the right to bring this event to the Middle East and North Africa, allowing fans to live and experience basketball on their doorstep. Qatar believes in the national importance of sport, and a big part of the Qatar Olympic Committee’s Strategy for 2023-2030 is to host major sport events and deliver them at the highest standards.”  

Barshim opens season with gold, Bashayer shines in triple jump

Doha- Qatar’s high jumper Mutaz Barshim opened his season by winning gold medal in the West Asia Athletics Championship at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday. On the opening day of the championship, reigning Olympic champion Barshim comfortably clinched the gold with a jump of 2.20m. Oman’s Fatiq Abdul Ghafoor (2.05m) secured silver while Iraq’s Hussain Falah claimed bronze medal. Qatar’s three-time world champion will now start his Diamond League season at the same venue on May 5. Qatar’s bagged four gold medals on the opening day. Earlier, Bashayer Obaid brought first gold of the day for the hosts after leaping 11.62m in the women’s triple jump. Top Al Annabi sprinter Femi Ogunode claimed the men’s 100m, clocking 10.13s for a dominant win in the event. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Abubakar (10.23s) won silver while Femi’s brother Tosin Ogunode (10.31s) took the bronze for Qatar. The hosts also dominated the men’s 3000m steeplechase with Yasen Salem (8:33.63) and Musab Adam (8:34.25) confirming a one-two for the home side. Iraq’s Mohamed Abdullah (8:35.85) finished on third spot. In 10,000m race walk, Qatar’s Mabrook Saleh (49:09.64 secs) won silver finishing behind UAE’s Al Shuali al-Naimi, who picked claimed gold with a time of 48:30.49 secs. Palestine’s Aboud Joda (50:54.86) won bronze medal in the event. In 110m hurdles, Qatar’s Omar Daudi secured bronze with a time of 14:27. As many as 12 countries including hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen and Syria are taking part in the event that will conclude on April 29.  

West Asia Athletics Championship to Kick off Today

Doha: The fourth edition of the West Asia Athletics Championship for men and women (Qatar 2023) will kick off Wednesday, with the participation of athletes from 12 countries. The participating countries are the hosts Qatar along with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, Yemen and Syria. The championship, to be held from April 26-29, features 22 contests, on the field and track of Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar SC. President of Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) and West Asian Athletics Association Mohammed Issa Al Fadhala expressed his happiness with hosting the championship in Qatar, welcoming the participating teams, and wishing that the championship would achieve the required technical success at the level of the game and on the personal level of the athletes. Al Fadhala stressed the readiness of the field and track of the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium to receive competitions throughout the days of the tournament, pointing out that the tournament is a unique opportunity for athletes in the west of the continent to present distinguished levels that help them in the upcoming challenges in athletics championships at the continental and global levels. (QNA)

Police claim title of Qatar Volleyball Cup

Doha: Police team claimed the title of Qatar Volleyball Cup for 2022/2023 season for the first time in their history after 3-0 win (25 - 23, 25 -19, 26 - 24) over Qatar SC in the final match at Qatar Volleyball Association's hall today. The Police team won the championship cup, gold medals, and a cash prize of QR 250,000, while the second place team won silver medals and a cash prize of QR 150,000. HE First Vice-President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Mohamed Yousef Al Mana congratulated the two teams for their outstanding performance in the match. He also congratulated the Qatar Volleyball Association for the good organization. In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) after crowning the winners, Al Mana said that the QOC aims, through its support for Qatari sports in general, to preserve Qatari excellence in sports competitions, especially after the great momentum that Qatar enjoyed following its excellence in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. His Excellency noted that the QOC, headed by HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, pays great attention to Qatari sports by supporting the federations in order to represent Qatar in the best way in international competitions and forums, and that the QOC's strategy in the coming period aims to realize sports awareness in the Qatari society. (QNA)  

Al Attiyah to QNA: We Seek to Continue Successes by Hosting World Judo Championships 'Doha 2023'

Doha: Khalid bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the President of the Qatar Taekwondo, Judo and Karate Federation and President of the Arab Judo Federation, has affirmed the federation's endeavor to host an exceptional edition of the World Judo championships for the first time in Doha from May 7 to 14, with the participation of more than 700 male and female players representing more than 100 countries. In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Attiyah said preparations are continuing in Doha to host an exceptional edition of the World Judo Championships this year to be added to the great successes achieved by the State of Qatar in hosting major sports tournaments in the world, the latest of which was the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, thanks to the unlimited support by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani as well as the continuous support by HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani. He added that Doha's success in hosting the Masters Championship 2021 and the Arab Judo Championship 2023 is an indication of its success in hosting the next edition of the world championship. Doha presented an ideal version of the Masters Judo Championship 2021 that was held at the Lusail Hall, with the participation of 400 athletes representing 70 countries, during which the good Qatari organization won great praise from the International Judo Federation and the Asian Federation as well as from all the delegations participating in the competitions. As part of preparations to host the World Judo Championships (Doha 2023), the organizing committee of the tournament recently supervised the hosting of the Arab Judo championships for men and women from March 1 to 4, 2023 at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, where the World Judo championships will be held next month, he said, indicating that this Arena has previously hosted world championships in handball and boxing. Al Attiyah pointed out that the Arab championship, held recently in Doha, was a real rehearsal and the best preparation for hosting the World championship competitions. Al Attiyah explained that Doha's success in organizing the Masters Championship and the Arab Judo Championship enhances the International Federation's confidence in the organizational capabilities of the State of Qatar and its ability to make the World Judo championship a success, whether at the organizational or technical level. He pointed out that the organizing committee of the World Judo championship recently offered tickets for sale via the Internet through the following link: judodoha2023.com/ar Regarding the possibility of Qatari players qualifying in the sports of judo, taekwondo and karate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Al Attiyah expected that Qatari players will be able to reserve qualification cards for the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially after a number of national judo players qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He noted that Doha will host in October the Qatar Open Taekwondo Championship, a tournament that qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Doha is also preparing to host the Qatar Open Karate Championship in 2024, he added. By hosting the tournament, they seek to strengthen Doha's position as the capital of world sports and benefit from the great sporting heritage and accumulated experiences that Doha has gathered by hosting a large number of major international tournaments every year, Al Attiyah said. (QNA)