Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel begins

Doha: The main rounds of the Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel began on a great note with the Round of 64 on the courts of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. In all, a total of 24 matches were played, featuring some of the world's best players, who strutted their stuff to the delight of the fans of one of the world's fastest growing sports. Qualifier Martn Sánchez Pineiro and Pablo Garcia Rodrigo of Spain produced one of the tournament's major upsets, defeating 16th-seeded Argentina's Juan Cruz Belluati and Miguel Lamperti in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3) in 90 minutes on Grandstand 3. Meanwhile, Argentina's Ramiro Moyano and Spain's Francisco Manuel Gil Morales, the 12th seeds, began their campaign on a winning note by defeating Spain's Francisco Ramirez Navaz and Ricardo Martinez in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. In the other matches, Spain's Luis Hernández and Igo Jofre easily defeated Italy's Aris Patiniotos and Ignacio Sager of Spain.They won in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 to set up a Round of 32 clash with fifth-seeded Agustín Tapia of Argentina and Spain's Arturo Coello. Qatar’s Ali Al Saygh and Rayyan Al Jufairi were beaten in straight sets by 44th-seeded Francisco Guerrero and Jesus Moya Sos of Spain. The same fate befell Jabor Al Mutawa and Mohammed Al Khanji, who were eliminated by Spaniards Eduardo Alonso and Juanlu Esbri.  

Qatar’s Best Chase Glory at Senior Arab Judo Championships – Doha 2023 in Al Sadd

Doha– Qatar’s leading judokas will continue their preparations for the World Judo Championships – Doha 2023 when they bid for regional glory at the Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, Al Sadd, this weekend. The Senior Arab Judo Championships – Doha 2023 take place on Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4 at the same state-of-the-art arena that will host the World Judo Championships – Doha 2023 in May. Around 300 judokas are expected with participants entering from Qatar, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Djibouti, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon in action. The event will be used as a test event for the World Judo Championships – Doha 2023, which takes place from May 7-14. Abdulhadi Almarri, Marketing, Communication, Opening & Closing Ceremonies Committee Director for the World Judo Championships – Doha 2023 said: “We are proud to have been awarded the World Judo Championships – Doha 2023, and this weekend provides the perfect test event to prepare for it. Delegates from the International Judo Federation will be attending, and we are confident it will be a hugely successful championship.” Team Qatar has announced the six Judoka who will represent the country at the upcoming Senior Arab Judo Championships - Doha 2023. The selected athletes and their weight categories are: Mohammed Rabahi (81 kg), Khalil Rabahi (81 kg), Rida Nafoui (100 kg), Saleha Al-Badi (57 kg), Fatina Bouqehous (52 kg), and Kholoud Al Kuwari (78 kg). The action gets under way on Friday at 2pm, and 1pm on Saturday. On both days, medal ceremonies will take place at 5pm. Entrance to the event is free of charge.

Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship from today

Doha: A total of 126 players including nine Qatari golfers will line up for the 37th edition of Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship that begins at the Doha Golf Club (DGC) on Thursday. The winner gets a coveted berth for Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2023 scheduled for October later this year. Saleh Ali Al Kaabi will lead the home charge in the three-day tournament while Ali Al Shahrani, who is the only Al Annabi player to win the tournament (2021), will also compete for his second title. The list of golfers includes 77 contestants of different nationalities, who play at different clubs in Qatar while the rest have traveled to Doha to take part in the event. Apart from a place in Qatar Masters that will be played from October 26 to 29 this year, top 10 players will receive prizes at the conclusion of the tournament. Launching Qatar Open at a press conference, Qatar Golf Association (QGA) Deputy General-Secretary Eng. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Muhannadi said preparations have been finalised to stage the event. “We received over 150 entries as many golfers showed keen interest in their participation but we had to restrict field to 126 players. We have given priority to the ones with lower handicaps,” Al Muhannadi told reporters at the Doha Golf Club. “We expect a close competition in presence of some very good golfers. Some of the amateurs, who participated in the Asian Tour’s International Series Qatar, are also featuring in the tournament. The prospect of Qatar Masters entry always takes the best out of golfers in this event,” he added. DGC General Manager Gary McGlinchey said the conditions are better for golfers than it was last month when the course staged the first edition of Asian Tour’s International Series Qatar. “The weather is better than it was in the last event but the course will still be a test for the golfers. We are looking forward to a good action in the weekend,” he said. McGlinchey also spoke about the complimentary messages from top golfers around the world who he said, “find the refurbished Doha Golf Club course ‘tough but fair’. He expects the Qatar Open Golf Amateur Championship to see top scores of 8 under par as it was during the recent Asian Tour International Series at this course. Pakistan’s Omar Khalid aims to tackle Doha wind Meanwhile, Omar Khalid, who became Pakistan’s youngest ever national amateur champion in 2021, praised DGC facilities as he makes his Qatar debut. “Course is very windy and challenging, rocky desert and fescue on both sides of the fairway make accuracy a must. Practice facilities are top-notch with a huge putting green and range. Both the finishing holes 9 and 18 add to the challenge of closing out a good round,” the 18-year-old said on Wednesday. “Coming from Pakistan, I am used to the wind but the wind back home does not compare to that of Doha Golf Club. It will be a fun test of golfing skills and I am looking forward to the tournament,” said Omar, who represented Pakistan at the World Amateur Team Championship in Paris and Asia Pacific Amateur in Thailand, and is the only Pakistani golfer to have made the cut in any United States Golf Association (USGA) Championship.  

Team Qatar lose to Iran in AFC U20 Asian Cup

Fergana: Mohammad Hazbavi’s second half penalty secured Islamic Republic of Iran a 1-0 win over Qatar in their AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023 Group B match at the Istiqlol Stadium on Wednesday. The win gives three-time winners Iran a head start in the race to advance to the quarter-finals while Qatar have it all to do after the defeat. Qatar, champions in 2014, started brightly with Ahmed Al Rawi forcing Iran goalkeeper Adib Zarei into making a save in the opening minute before seeing his long-range effort blocked eight minutes later. Iran came close at the 10th minute through Mohammadreza Torabi’s effort, with the midfielder skipping past his marker inside the box before forcing a fine stop from Qatar custodian Amir Hassan Katoul. Two minutes later, it was Milad Kor’s turn to get into the action when he shot just wide, before Iran brought the best out of Katoul in the 20th minute when the Qatari shotstopper denied Erfan Ghorbani and Saeid Saharkhizan from close range. While Qatar toiled in midfield, Iran continued to miss clear-cut chances with Farhad Zavoshi failing to convert Saeid Saharkhizan’s cutback in the 23rd minute. Iran dominated the closing stages of the first half with Saeid Saharkhizan and Amirreza Eslamtalab toiling in front of goal, while Qatar also saw Rashid Al Abdulla’s effort foiled as the teams went into the break level. Qatar began the second half with purpose and gave Iran a scare in the 54th minute when Younis Mohammed found space just above the box, only to rifle his effort high off Rashid Al Abdulla’s lay-off. Iran, however, persisted and were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute when Zavoshi was brought down by Mohammed Mansour inside the six-yard-box with Mohammad Hazbavi sending Katoul the wrong way. Iran should have doubled their advantage in the 70th minute when Mersad Seifi weaved his way through on the left flank before sending a wonderful cut-back to Zavoshi who, however, failed to connect in front of a gaping goalmouth. Qatar pursued the equaliser but their efforts fell flat with Al Rawi failing to find the target from distance, before the Qatari No 11 saw his attempt from inside the box go to waste. Iran will face Australia next on Saturday, while Qatar will have to defeat Vietnam to keep their hopes alive.  

Curtain comes on Doha International Showjumping Championship

Doha: Egypt’s Karim Elzoghby and his 13-year-old gelding Zandigo put on a clinical show to clinch the CSI4* Grand Prix title at the Doha International Showjumping Championship, which concluded at Longines Arena at Al Shaqab yesterday. No jump off was needed to crown the winner, with Elzoghby the only one to deliver a clear round in show in 70.78 seconds on a challenging course in the 1.55m class worth €98,000. The Egyptian collected the winner’s prize of €24,500 after the flawless performance. For Morocco’s Abdeslam Bennani Smires a time fault kept him and 15-year-old Davino Q out of the jump off that left them in second place in 74.03 seconds for a winning purse of €19,600. Abdelkebir Ouaddar, also from Morocco, rode the fastest round in 67.22 second on Istanbull vh Ooievaarshof but had to be content with third place and €14,700 after picking up for faults. In fourth place came Morocco’s Mouda Zeyada on If Looks Could Kill OH followed by Egypt’s Sami Cherkaoui with Chacsara on fifth. Earlier yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s Ramzy al-Duhami guided Manola LS la Silla to first place in the 1.45m event with jump off that offered €53,000 in prize money. The pair completed the jump off in 38.03 sec, committing four penalties, after clocking 69.13 sec in the first round. Morocco’s Ali al-Ahrach, who rode Byblos d’Elle, secured second position after a time of 39.04 sec (4 faults) in the jump off after finishing the first round in 71.43 sec. Jordan’s Ibrahim Hani Bisharat combined with Happyness to take third position with a time of 39.44 (4 faults) in jump off. The pair finished the first round in 71.37 sec.  

Qatar to take on Iran in AFC U20 Asian Cup

Fergana: Qatar and Iran are ready to unleash their next generation of talent when they face off in Group B of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 on Wednesday. Qatar coach Inaki Gonzalez Abadia on Tuesday said his team’s opening clash against Iran in the AFC U20 Asian Cup TM Uzbekistan 2023. “difficult.” Qatar, 2014 champions, impressed in the qualifying group held in Bahrain; however, they will be matched by an Iranian side that managed to qualify with a clean shit throughout the qualification stage. “The competition in this tournament is fierce, and tomorrow’s game will be no exception. We are well aware of their team’s physical prowess, but we have been training for just such opponents.”, Abadia said in the pre-tournament press conference held one day prior to kickoff. “All of our attention is being directed toward the first match of the tournament. In response to a question on how he thinks things would finally play out in the group, he stated that “We take it one match at a time.” Qatar’s performance in the qualifying group generated so much excitement around the team, but coach Abadia refused the notion that this could put his young players under pressure , “This generation of players qualified for the U17 championship but couldn’t compete in the tournament since it was cancelled amidst the pandemic, and now they have qualified once more, but this time they get to play and test their skills against some of the competition in Asia, I am delighted for them”. Qatar, who won the tournament in 2014, are drawn in the challenging group B alongside Australia, Iran and Vietnam. Qatar will take on Iran on March 1st in their opening match, before playing Vietnam on the 4th of the same month. Qatar will conclude their group stage matches against Australia on March 7.