Qatar wins bid to host AFC Asian Cup 2023

Kuala Lumpur: The State of Qatar won bid to host the 18th edition of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup during the 11th AFC Executive Committee meeting, which was held Monday at the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa congratulated the QFA on their successful bid. After handing over the hosting rights certificate to HE President of Qatar Football Association (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said "On behalf of the AFC and the Asian football family, I want to congratulate the Qatar Football Association on being awarded the hosting rights of the upcoming edition of the AFC Asian Cup. "Qatars capabilities and track record in hosting major international sporting events and their meticulous attention to detail are well admired throughout the globe," Al Khalifa added . He said that "given the short lead time in preparation, we know that the hard work begins immediately but with their existing world-class infrastructure and unrivalled hosting capabilities, we are confident that Qatar will stage a worthy spectacle befitting the prestige and stature of Asias crown jewel." Al Khalifa also conveyed the appreciation of the Asian football family to the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and the Korea Football Association (KFA) for their commendable proposals. "I must also commend the AFC for showcasing utmost professionalism in conducting a fair and transparent expedited bidding process and I thank all our commercial partners and sponsors for their patience during these unprecedented times," he added. Qatar are the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions and will be hosting the Continents most prestigious mens tournament for the third time after staging the 1988 and 2011 editions. Qatar is also preparing to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18, which has strengthened the Qatari bid and made it stand on solid ground in terms of full logistics. Qatar now have a great legacy inherent in sports facilities and sports expertise as well, both administrative and technical, by hosting many different sporting events over the past years. The AFC Executive Committee deliberated upon the bidding proposals for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and shortlisted the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) as the final two bidders with the hosting decision to be taken by the AFC Congress at its next meeting in February 2023. The decision brings to a close the bid proposal of the QFA who were considered to have withdrawn from the 2027 race following their successful 2023 bid in accordance with the applicable bidding regulations. Football Australia withdrew from the AFC Asian Cup 2023 bidding process on Sep. 1, 2022, while the Uzbekistan Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran officially withdrew their bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 on Dec. 14, 2020, and Oct. 13, 2022, respectively. The AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa added: "In the All India Football Federation and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, we have two exemplary bids, and I am confident that the Qatar Football Association will strengthen the foundations for the eventual 2027 hosts to build upon." The AFC Executive Committee ratified the decisions of all the Standing Committees since its last meeting, most notably the AFC Competitions Committee's recommendation to award the hosting rights of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 to the QFA. The date of the 18th edition of the tournament will be officially revealed later. Last May, China apologized for organizing the AFC Asian Cup 2023 due to its policy to limit the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, as the tournament was scheduled to be held in 10 Chinese cities, from June 16 to July 16, 2023, with the participation of 24 teams. Japan is the most successful team in the tournament with four titles, the last of which was in the 2011 edition in Doha, one behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. South Korea comes in the third place with two titles, while the Qatari team won the continental championship for the first time in their history in the last edition held in the UAE in 2019, becoming the fourth Arab and Gulf team to win the Asian title after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.

Djibrine claims discus throw bronze medal at Asian Youth Championships

Kuwait City: Djibrine Adoum Ahmat yesterday clinched his second medal at the 4th Asian Under-18 Athletics Championships as Qatar signed off with four medals in Kuwait. Ahmat secured the bronze medal in the boys discus throw final, clearing a distance of 53.75 metres. India's Atul won the gold medal with a throw of  56.23 metres while his compatriot  K C Servan booked the second spot with a 55.91-metre mark. Ahmat had earlier won Qatar's first medal at the Championships when he clinched the silver in the shot put on the opening day. Rest of Qatar's medals came through pole vaulter Seifeldin Mohamed Abdelsalam who struck gold on the opening day, before Abdulrahman Mohammed won the sliver medal in 400m Hurdles on Saturday. Also yesterday, Qatari long jumper Jaber Ali Al Jalahma registered a personal best of 6.92 metres to finish fourth in the final. Qatar finished in the 10th place in the overall medals tally with one gold medals, two silver and one bronze while India topped the table with six gold medals, 11 silver and seven bronze.  

QWSC ice hockey training camp concludes

Doha- The Qatar Winter Sports Committee (QWSC) concluded a 10-day summer training camp for men’s and youth national ice hockey teams held in Gebze, Turkey from October 03-13, 2022.  The training camp featured the participation of 14 athletes from national ice hockey teams.  The training camp has focused lights on many aspects including technical performance and playing strategies and featured a friendly match against one of local ice hockey teams.  The training camp comes in light of the QWSC strategy to develop this type of winter sports in the state of Qatar to enable the Qatari ice hockey national teams to participate in the international championships.

Cherif and Ahmed back on top of the podium with victory in the Maldives

Male: Exactly two weeks prior to Sunday’s final of the Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in the Maldives, the world was warned that Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum were, in their own words, “back.” In a strange summer that has included three gold medals but also three forfeited tournaments, Mol and Sorum resumed their dominant form to which we’ve all become so familiar, winning gold in the Paris Elite16. On Sunday, while Cherif Younousse Samba and Ahmed Tijan may not have physically spoken the words “we’re back,” they didn’t much need to. The Qataris were positively dominant in the gold medal match, sweeping Americans Chase Budinger and Troy Field, 21-17, 21-15, in a match they controlled from start to finish, in a style and setting that was very reminiscent of the Cancun four-stars a year and a half ago. In Cancun, under those hot and humid and breezy conditions, Ahmed and Cherif flew up the world rankings, making three straight finals, also winning the third event, which marked their first major gold medal as a team (their first came in a one-star at home in Doha two months prior). After, they made finals in Sochi and Gstaad, and claimed the first beach volleyball Olympic medal in Qatari history, winning bronze. But after a finals appearance at the Jurmala Elite16 in early June, the podiums have been strangely absent for Ahmed and Cherif. They finished ninth at the World Championships, ninth again in Gstaad – both times they were eliminated by Brazil’s Bruno and Saymon – and fifth in Paris. For four months, they went without a medal, their longest in-season drought since 2019. All of that changed on Sunday, when Samba and Tijan came back to defeat Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig in the semifinals, 15-21, 21-12, 15-13, then followed it up by knocking off their third American team in four matches. And while Budinger and Field didn’t win gold, simply making it to the final was no small accomplishment for an American federation suffering from an unprecedented shortage of medals. Sunday marked the first day in nearly three years that an American men’s team appeared in the final of a top-tier event – top-tier being four-star and above, and Challenge and above – since Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb won gold at the Chetumal four-star in November of 2019. Their silver is also the first medal won by an American team since Gibb and Crabb’s gold in Mexico. Sweden, despite a season shortened by injury, has had no such shortage of success this year. The bronze won by Ahman and Hellvig, defeating Ukraine's Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik, is their second medal on the Beach Pro Tour this season, to go along with victories at the European Championship and U22 European Championship. Not bad for only seven tournaments’ worth of work, as the Maldives was the first Beach Pro Tour event for Ahman and Hellvig since the Ostrava Elite16.

Fares Ibrahim claims two gold medals at Asian Weightlifting Championships

Manama: Qatar's Fares Ibrahim claimed two gold medals and one silver medal at men's 102km category at the 2022 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Manama, Bahrain on Saturday.  Ibrahim took the silver medal of Snatch event with 171 kg.  In Cleand & Jerk, Qatar's star showed his great power with 215kg to claim the gold medal. He also secured the gold medal of Men 102kg Total with 386 kg.  The event brings together 28 countries including Qatar, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Iran, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, KSA, Kuwait, South Korea, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen and Bahrain.  

Qatar’s Abdulrahman Mohammed wins Asian Youth 400m Hurdles silver medal

 KUWAIT – Qatar’s athlete Abdulrahman Mohammed has  fought tooth and nail to win the sliver medal in 400m Hurdles at the  Asian  Youth Athletics Championships in Kuwait on Saturday. Team Qatar athlete clocked the event in time of 52.47 seconds behind first place winner Linka Yan of Thailand, as the third place went to Indian Sarman Murad.  he event, which will conclude on October 16, has brought together 30 nations. Besides hosts Kuwait and Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brunei, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore, Tajikistan and Vietnam are also taking part in the event.