Draw held for Asian Men's Beach Handball Championship

Bali: The draw for the 9th Asian Men's Beach Handball Championship (2024 World Championship Qualifiers) has placed the Qatari team in Group A, along with Iran, the Philippines, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Group B, which will be held on the Indonesian island of Bali from March 10 to 19, includes the teams of Indonesia, Vietnam, Oman, Hong Kong, Kuwait and China. The two teams that finish first and second in the Asian Championship qualify for the 2024 World Championship. Qatar beach handball team was runner-up in the last edition of the Asian Championship that was held in the Iranian capital, Tehran in 2022. Qatar won the title five times in a row in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Through its participation in the 9th Asian Men's Beach Handball Championship, the Qatari national team is seeking to regain the continental title and qualify for the World Championship for the seventh time in a row. (QNA)  

Stage set for Fencing Grand Prix Qatar 2023

Doha: The Qatar Fencing Federation has completed all preparations to host the Fencing Grand Prix Qatar 2023 Epee, organized by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) from Jan. 27 to 29 at Aspire Dome. The event will feature the participation of 320 players from 45 countries. The Qatari national team is represented by Yousef Abdultawab, Mohamed Abdullah, Mohamed Al Haza, Abdulrahman Al Jadra, Mohamed Al Awlan, Jaber Al Fadaaq and Haya Deyab.   

Qatar lose to Argentina in IHF World Men's Handball

Katowice (Poland): Argentina avenged the loss from the previous edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship against Qatar, sealing their second win at Poland/Sweden 2023, 26:22 and ending the tournament with a positive feeling despite their final ranking – 19th place. Ranked fifth and sixth in the group, Qatar and Argentina faced off in the debut match of the last day of the main round in the Spodek Arena in Katowice with a single aim: win and enhance their chances for a better finish at Poland/Sweden 2023. The maths were simple, with both sides on zero points after dropping the first two matches in this competition phase. Due to their inferior goal difference to Qatar, Argentina had only the option of a win if they aimed to finish in 20th place in the championship. Motivated by their situation, the South American side delivered a good first half, especially in defence, where they constantly frustrated their opponents with their aggressive style. In the first 30 minutes, Argentina caused 12 turnovers for Qatar and stole the ball five times, with the Asian team’s coach Valero Rivera failing to understand what was really happening. Once again, Qatar’s top scorer at this competition, left wing Ahmad Madadi, was the team’s leader, scoring five of their seven goals, yet until the 17th minute, Qatar had only eight shots as their turnovers really plagued their attack, leaving Argentina with a big lead. However, until the end of the first half, the South American side were unable to capitalise on Qatar’s mistakes, especially due to their own costly misses. The Asian side’s goalkeeper, Bilal Lepenica, had seven saves for a 39% efficiency, including three one-on-one stops, becoming crucial in giving his side a fighting chance in the second half. But when the Asian champions cleaned up their act, especially in attack, Argentina stumbled across problems. Qatar constantly kept pushing and asking questions, reducing the gap as right back Jovan Gacevic entered the fray, scoring three goals in only six minutes. Argentina were quick to answer, bringing the lead back to four goals, 21:17, taking full advantage of new problems self-inflicted by Qatar, namely three suspensions that clearly took a toll in defence, where Argentina managed to find just the right balance to exploit the weaknesses. Left wing Ignacio Pizarro has been nothing short of amazing for the South American side, scoring nine goals, four of which came in the second half, to lift his side to the second win in the competition, avenging the painful 25:26 loss in the main round at Egypt 2021 two years ago when Qatar denied Argentina their first quarter-final berth. Eventually, Argentina sealed a 26:22 win, their second at Poland/Sweden 2023, a championship in which they will finish in 19th place, a step back from Egypt 2021, but still a respectable position with a team that has seen quite a few changes from the previous competitions. With only one win and five losses, Qatar end up in 22nd place, only one place shy of their worst-ever finish at the IHF Men’s World Championship, a sign that coach Valero Rivera has plenty to work on for the future.  

Swiatek to headline Qatar TotalEnergies Open

Doha: The Qatar TotalEnergies Open will return with a bang with nine out of the world’s top ten players confirmed to participate in the 2023 edition to be held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from February 13 to 18. The Qatar TotalEnergies Open will return with a bang with nine out of the world’s top ten players confirmed to participate in the 2023 edition to be held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from February 13 to 18. Of the world’s top ten superstars, only the World No. 6 Maria Sakkari of Greece is unlikely to be in action in the $780,637 total prize-money event. The World No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland leads the star cast of 56 players for the singles and 28 pairs for the doubles events of the 21st edition of the WTA 500 tournament. Swiatek defeated Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in straight sets last year to lift the Golden Falcon trophy for the first time in her career in Doha. The 21-year-old Warsaw-born player, who went on to add two Grand Slams (French Open and US Open) to her trophy cabinet after the victory in Doha, besides wins at Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, and San Diego; in what was her best year so far on the tour, will be joined by super stars including Ons Jabeur, Jessica Peluga, Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, and Belinda Bencic to give tennis fans in Qatar and the region a treat of a lifetime. For World No. 2 Ons Jabeur, the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP history, a victory in Doha will not only cement her legendary status in the region, but will also ensure the tournament has an Arabian or African winner for the first time in its history – a record many people are looking forward to. The 28-year-old Tunisian narrowly missed out twice on having a Grand Slam crown on her head last year, having suffered disappointing defeats at Wimbledon and at the US Open. While all eyes will be on the top-ten stars as the favourites, two-time winner Petra Kvitova will also be waiting in the wings with the expectation of making history of her own as the first player to lift the coveted trophy thrice. Of the four lucky players who have been two-time champions in Doha, namely Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitova, only the 32-year-old Kvitova and Belarussian Azarenka remain in contention to break the record and make history. While Kvitova is one of the confirmed players for the main draw, Azarenka, on the other hand, is on the alternate players list at this year’s edition. Tournament Director Saad al-Mohannadi said: “It is a great privilege to have almost all the top players confirmed for the Qatar TotalEnergies Open once again. Their desire to be a part of this tournament is a further confirmation of the reputation it has garnered over the years, the recognition of the organisation, and the maximum attention to detail everyone involved in the tournament has always put into it. “We appreciate TotalEnergies, the title sponsor, and all our other supporters for their commitments over the years in always making this tournament a great success.” “This year’s edition is unique in that it is the first major tournament to be hosted by Qatar after the grand success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We believe the world will witness an amazing event just like they did at Qatar 2022 and we can’t wait to host the stars,” he added. The Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2023 is the 21st edition of the annual tennis tournament that has grown to become one of the main signature events on the Qatar sporting calendar.  

WTT Feeder Doha 2023 gets underway

Doha- There is no downtime in Qatar as WTT Feeder Doha 2023 got underway in Doha on Sunday. The event is held at Lusail Sports Arena from 22-26 January  with participation of 130 players.   The race to the final will be a hard-fought affair, with 2022 Men's and Women's Singles winners, Zhao Zihao and Qian Tianyi respectively, making a return to Doha in pursuit of a title defence.  Standing at the top of the pack as top seed in the Men's Singles is Omar Assar. While the World No.24 is a mainstay in continental medal hauls, Assar has not reached an international Men's Singles final since 2017. As quarterfinalist at two Feeder events in 2022, the pressure will be on for Assar to get his hands on some WTT silverware and end his podium drought.  Waiting to knock Assar off the podium is Lee Sangsu. Lee saw himself drop out of the Top 20 through all of 2022. With the new year underway, the one-time World No.6 will use Doha to chip his way back up to his old heights. Meanwhile, World Youth champions Lin Shidong and Xiang Peng are close behind. The young-guns will be out to one-up their older peers as they continue their rise to dominance in the senior ranks.  Over in the Women's Singles, all eyes will be on Doo Hoi Kem. The World No.9 is top seed in Doha and will be chasing her first ever international title outside of continental wins. Doo was super active in the WTT Series last year, stepping out to compete on 10 occasions. This will be her first WTT Feeder Series appearance and will likely see the event as a chance to get the ball rolling on her 2023 campaign.  Despite the illustrious crowd, the field will be hard-pressed to stop Fan Siqi. Doha has turned in to a favourite city for World No.18 who is fresh off the back of winning the Women's Singles title at Contender Doha for the second year in a row. Fan will step back in to the venue as the 2nd seed in the Feeder event.    The entry list will also offer up a wide array of styles that will keep fans enthralled. Table tennis diehards will want to follow the progress of World No.93 Zhu Chengzhu, who was a surprise clutch player for Hong Kong, China at the World Team Championships Finals last year. Meanwhile prominent youth competitor Elena Zaharia will be eyeing to score herself a couple of upset wins, as the 14th seed in the draw looks for a breakthrough result.   The state of Qatar is represented by Ahmed Khalil Al Mohannadi, Mohamed Abdulwahab, Ahmed Mothana, Fahad Al Moghni, Ahmed Saadawi, Sultan Al Kuwari, Ahmed Qurani, Rawad Al Nasser, Yousef Magdi, Ali Hamza, and Maryam Ali.    

Norway defeat Qatar in IHF Men’s World Championship

POLAND , January 22, 2023 - Norway edged closer to their fourth consecutive quarter-final berth at the IHF Men’s World Championship, cruising to a clear win against Qatar (30:17). Jonas Wille’s side has now won five games in a row, their best-ever start in the history of the competition. A win against Qatar would have seen Norway edge closer to the quarter-finals of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship for the fourth time in a row, an objective clearly set in coach Jonas Wille’s debut at a major international tournament. Therefore, there was no question about motivation for the Scandinavian side, especially against a team that was already eliminated, after conceding three losses in the first four games and not having the injured left back Rafael Capote in the squad. If Norway were clear favourites on paper, they immediately made their mark also in the game, jumping to a 5:0 lead after only seven minutes, with a dominant display in attack, but mostly in defence, where goalkeeper Torbjorn Bergerud outshone everyone on the court. Bergerud, slowly getting to his top form for Norway, saved the first five shots and conceded the first goal after seven minutes and 40 seconds. The evolution of the game prompted Qatar’s coach, Valero Rivera, to take an early timeout after eight minutes and 40 seconds to instil some life into his players. With an important game against Germany scheduled for Monday, Norway started to take out their most essential starters – like Sander Sagosen – but have also lost a bit of focus, enabling the Asian champions to come back in the game, slowly but surely. By half-time, Qatar were down five goals, mostly due to Bergerud’s excellent form, which sat over 50%, with 10 saves. But in attack, the Scandinavian side made too many easy mistakes, conceding seven turnovers, underlining their lack of focus throughout the first 30 minutes.  A 4:0 unanswered run, quickly followed by another 3:0 one, spurred by wings Sebastian Barthold and Kristian Bjornsen, who combined for 10 goals in the game, created a 10-goal gap by the 43rd minute, as Qatar could only muster four goals until that point in the second half, struggling mightily against the Scandinavian side. Bergerud displayed some excellent saves, finishing the match with 15 shots stopped for a 54% saving efficiency. At the same time, Norway took advantage of almost every chance they had on fast breaks, converting nine of the 10 shots they had a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper in transition. In the end, there was no question about the winner, with Norway’s superior experience and depth being clear on display, as the Scandinavian side sealed a main round berth with a 30:17 win, the highest loss for Qatar at the IHF Men’s World Championship since Spain 2013 when they conceded a 14-goal loss against Denmark. This was Norway’s fifth win in a row at Poland/Sweden 2023, marking their best-ever start in history at an edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship, a win more than their previous record. They have not sealed their quarter-finals berth yet, but have their fate in their own hands before the game against Germany on Monday. Qatar will now face Argentina in the last game of the main round in Katowice as they try to avoid finishing on the last place in the group, which could translate to their worst finish in the competition, which is now the 23rd place, at Germany 2007.