Qatar beat Bangladesh in AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers

Manama: Qatar defeated Bangladesh 3-0 to make it three consecutive wins in Group B of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 Qualifiers at the Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium on Friday. Ahmed Alrawi starred with a hat-trick as Qatar defeated Bangladesh 3-0 to stay perfect. Qatar, who defeated Nepal and Bhutan in their earlier games, dominated the first half with Alrawi finding the target in the 22nd minute. The Al Rayyan SC defender doubled Qatar’s tally at the hour mark before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time.  

Qatar defeat Bhutan in AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers

Manama: Qatar defeated Bhutan 6-0 to move to the top of Group B of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 Qualifiers on Wednesday. The West Asian side, who defeated Nepal 3-1 in their opener, hold a two-point lead after a stellar performance at the Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium. Bhutan, having been edged 2-1 by Bangladesh after opening with a 2-0 win over Nepal, badly needed victory to stay in sight of qualifying but found Qatar too hot to handle. Rashid Abdulaziz Al Abdulla opened the scoring in the 26th minute and by the time the referee blew the whistle for half time, Qatar were 4-0 up with Alhashmi Mohialdin (34th), Jassem Mohammed Alsharshani (39th) and Mobark Shanan Hamza (45+4) getting their names on the scoresheet. Defender Ahmed Alrawi took charge of the scoring duties in the second half, netting in the 61st and 78th minutes as Qatar took a huge step towards qualifying for the Finals. They play Bangladesh on Friday while Bhutan face hosts Bahrain in their final match.  

Qatar defeat Nepal in AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers

Manama: Qatar youth football team began their campaign in the qualifications for the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023 with 3-1 victory over Nepal on Monday.  Nepal matched Qatar in the initial stages but came undone in the 30th minute with defender Mohammed Mansour Ali opening the scoring for the West Asian side. Nepal, defeated 2-0 by Bhutan in their opener, fell further behind just before half-time with another defender, Mohamed Surag scoring Qatar's second. Qatar's third was scored Rashid Abdulaziz Al Abdulla in the 60th minute with Nepal getting a consolation when Qatar captain Jassem Mohammed Alsharshani put the ball into his own net in the 76th minute.  

Mohamed ElShorbagy Captures Fourth QTerminals Qatar Classic Title

Doha- England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy won the first Platinum title of the season and his first since May 2021 as he downed tournament breakout star Victor Crouin to capture his fourth QTerminals Qatar Classic title. Crouin, who had already made history as the first player outside of the top eight seeds to reach the final since Lee Beachill in 2003, went into the match with a 2-0 losing record against ElShorbagy, who won the title here in 2017, 2015, and 2013. Speaking after he came from behind to beat No.3 seed Mostafa Asal in yesterday’s semi-final, ElShorbagy referenced the first of those victories over Crouin, which came on this court in the 2019 World Championships, as a moment he knew the Frenchman – then aged 20 – would be a future star of the game. ElShorbagy’s prediction was further proven to be true in recent days, with Crouin reaching the final of the Bronze-level CIB Zed Open and impressively downing No.7 seed Joel Makin and No.6 seed Tarek Momen alongside Patrick Rooney and Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi en route to today’s final. ElShorbagy, though, went into the match knowing he had a golden opportunity to not only begin his season with a major title but also to kickstart a charge up the rankings, with the game’s top two ranked players, Ali Farag and Paul Coll, crashing out in the third and second round, respectively. Crouin looked positive at the beginning of the first game, taking the first point of the final before trading short rallies with ElShorbagy to go to 2-2. From here, though, it was a masterclass from ElShorbagy. The Englishman went on the offensive and overwhelmed Crouin with a brutal run of points to storm into a one game lead with an 11-4 victory in a mere eight minutes. Crouin, who until then was yet to trail in Doha, saw his rhythm consistently disrupted by ElShorbagy as the court cooled in game two, with the 31-year-old consistently finding his marks at the back wall while Crouin struggled to apply enough pressure. After ElShorbagy took the second game 11-6, the Englishman was pegged back by an impressive fightback from Crouin, who rediscovered the measured and well-organised squash that took him into his first Platinum final to take the third game 11-7. In an exciting fourth game, ElShorbagy went 10-6 up to go to the brink of a 45th title. Although Crouin played positive squash and was able to save two championship balls, he could do nothing about a perfect drop from ElShorbagy, who took the title with an 11-8 victory. After the match, ElShorbagy said: “I can’t express how I feel right now. “It was the first ever Platinum event I won, here in 2013. Now, almost ten years later, I’m winning my fourth title here. It’s the place I’ve had the most success in my career and will always have a special place in my heart. “As I said yesterday, France needed a superstar after [Thierry] Lincou and Greg [Gaultier, ElShorbagy’s coach and former World No.1]. Victor is here for the long run and an amazing talent. I’m 100 percent sure this isn’t going to be the last time [he reaches the final]. He’s going to win this title many times, I’m sure! “I’d like to thank Greg Gaultier. Without him, none of this would have been possible. I was in a very bad place last year. No matter how much I try to speak about him, it will never be enough. Without him, none of this would be possible. We played the final here on this court and now he’s not my rival anymore. He’s on the same side as me and I’m the luckiest person on this planet.” Crouin added: “It’s been a fantastic week. I’d never gone past the third round of a Platinum event, then reached my first quarter-final, the next day a first semi-final and today a final! Of course I wanted to go for the title today, but Mohamed showed me the way for the next time I reach the final! “I’ll learn a tonne from this match and the whole event. I’m especially proud of the way I played this week.” For Crouin, attention now turns to the Bronze-level Open de France de Squash 2022, which begins on September 12th, before he and ElShorbagy take part in the Platinum-level CIB Egyptian Open at the Pyramids of Giza, which begins on September 19th.  

Team Qatar win 18 medals in Arab Aquatics Championship

Cairo, Egypt – Team Qatar swimmers won 7 medals , including silver and six bronze on the closing day of Arab Aquatics Championship for age groups held in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo on Saturday. On Saturday, team Qatar overall tally has jumped to 18 medals , including ( one gold , 6 silver and 11 bronze).  Team Qatar consists of Ahmed Mohammed, Abdullah Al Ghamri, Hamza Mohamoud, Mohammed Aziz claimed the silver medal in 4x100 Medley relay ( 14-15 years). Qatar’s Ziad Abdallah won 100m butterfly bronze for ( 12-13 years), Ahmed Mohamed seized the bronze medal in 400m freestyle (14-15 years), Hamza Mahmoud won the bronze medal in 200m breaststroke (14-15 years) and Abdulla Al-Ghamri won bronze medal in 100m backstroke (14-15 m). On the same track of victory, Qatar relay team consists of Marwan Hassan, Ziad Abdullah, Saad Al-Sulaiti and Abdullah Mohammed  won 4x100 Medley relay for ( 12-13 years) and Qatar relay team consists of Tamim Mohamed, Yousef Hassan, Omar Hassan and Abdullah Al Khalidi claimed the bronze medal in  4x100 Medley relay for  ( 16-18 years).  

ElShorbagy to meet Crouin in QTerminals Qatar Classic 2022 final

Doha-The world No.18, Victor Crouin, stunned the 6th-ranked Tarek Momen, winning (3-1) 11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, on Friday to reach his first ever Platinum-level final, where he will be up against three-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy, who trounced world No.3 Mostafa Asal 3-1 (3-1: 3-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7) to reach his fifth final in Doha. The 23-year-old Crouin had knocked out Qatar’s Abdulla MohdAl Tamimi in straight games last night to book his first Platinum-level semi-final, while ElShorbagy stopped Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez 3-2 in the other fixture. "There have been too many speeches this week! I’m not used to speaking so much. It feels like everything’s fitting into place. On court, today I felt like I wasn’t as good as in previous days and I hit the tin a little more, but that’s probably because Tarek was putting a lot of pressure on me. I kept telling myself to be proactive and aggressive, because that’s how you win rallies. I’m just enjoying it on the court. Not overthinking, just hitting my targets. One more push tomorrow," Crouin said after his victory. Couin appeared confident from the start, making an aggressive start that Momen successfully countered. At 2-0 up and leading 3-0 in the third, Crouin appeared to be cruising into a maiden Platinum final. The Egyptian, on the other hand, fought back well and sealed an 11-5 victory that seemed extremely unlikely just minutes before. The World No.18, however, marshalled his nerves excellently and went 11-10 up in the fourth game after an enthralling rally, before sealing the match with a bitterly contested ‘no let’ decision by the video referee.