Qatar win Beach Handball event silver medal at World Games

BIRMINGHAM – USA : Qatar won a silver medal after losing to Croatia in the final by 1–2 (17–14; 16–20; SO. 6–9) in the men’s beach handball competition of the 11th World Games. The competition took place at the Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, United States of America, from July 11th to July 15th, 2022. Qatar is the only Asian country to qualify for the competition and was drawn in Group A along with Croatia and New Zealand. The results of Qatar in the preliminary group are as follows: Qatar VS New Zealand  2–0, Qatar VS Croatia  0–2. Qatar advanced to the main round and was seeded in Group I along with Croatia, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. The results of Qatar in the main round are as follows: Qatar VS Argentina  2–0,Qatar VS Puerto Rico  2–0. In the semi-final, Qatar defeated Brazil by 2–1 (18–21; 22–10; SO. 8–6). The top scorers in the match for Qatar were Mohamed Hassan and Amir Denguir, who scored 12 points each. Goalkeeper Mohsen Al-Yafeai made 33% saves during the match. Two players from the Qatar team were selected in the Men’s All-Star Team of the competition by the IHF Beach Handball Working Group. Most Valuable Player (MVP): Mohamed Hassan, Qatar Best goalkeeper: Dominik Markovic, Croatia Best left wing: Renan Pinheiro Carvalho, Brazil Best right wing: Lucian Bura, Croatia Best specialist: Mohamed Hassan, Qatar Best pivot: Andrew Donlin, USA Best defender: Sid Kenaoui, Qatar Top scorer: Nahuel Baptista, Argentina – 111 points This is the second medal for Qatar at the men’s beach handball competition of the World Games, as they won bronze in the previous edition held at Wrocław, Poland in 2017.

Team Qatar reach Men’s beach handball event semi-finals at World Games

BIRMINGHAM -Croatia, Qatar, Brazil and the USA all made it through to the semi-finals of the men’s beach handball competition at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA on Wednesday. Six games were played in the main round, with the top two teams in each of the two groups going through to the last four. Group I had the most suspense with, essentially, three teams competing for the top spot. Argentina and Qatar had work to do with Croatia secure following a 2-0 victory opening session victory over Puerto Rico. Qatar ensured their semi-final spot thanks to a 2-0 victory over Argentina but only after they followed it up with the same score against Puerto Rico. At the same time, Argentina knew they had to beat world champions Croatia and hope for a shock Puerto Rico win against the Asian champions. In the end, they managed their side of the deal, defeating Croatia in a monster match, 2-1, which saw 118 points scored. A last-second strike at the end of the first period ensured a 26:24 win for the South  Americans and this was followed up with Croatia turning the tables to win the second, 22:16. So it went to a shoot-out and after the first round ended at 8:8, Argentina started the second round. Ahead 16:14, Croatia’s Valentino Valentakovic saw his attempt blocked but it was a hollow victory with the Europeans knowing they would be playing for a potential medal and not their opponents. Qatar will now face Brazil and Croatia will take on the USA in the semi-finals on Thursday with all teams now able to have two shots at a medal. “It is a great chance to come back again and win a medal after four years' absence,” said Qatar’s Mohsen Alyafaei to ihf.info.  “Last time for us was at The World Games in Poland 2017 (they won bronze), but beach handball does not depend if you are the world champion or you are at the second or third level; your effort on the court and the team that makes fewer mistakes will win the competition.” After carrying two points over from the preliminary round, title-holders Brazil were the best-placed in main round group II to finish top, ahead of New Zealand and the USA, with all teams needing just one win to secure their passage through to the first of two chances to win a medal. The US, playing on home sand and with the knowledge that the IHF have applied for beach handball to be part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games programme, put on a show in their opener, winning 2-0 against fellow debutants New Zealand to ensure the spot in the last four. The other group II game of the day saw New Zealand suffer their second loss, a 0-2 defeat at the hands of the South Americans. Interested attendees amongst the fans at Sloss Furnaces on Wednesday also included International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Dr Thomas Bach and International World Games Association and (IWGA) President Jose Perurena Lopez who visited the show court to catch some action on the sand.  Both Bach and Lopez are big supporters of beach handball and have been present at several events over the years.  

Team Qatar finish second in West Asian U22 Athletics Championship

Beirut: Qatar’s national athletics team claimed the second place at the 2022 West Asian U22 Athletics Championship concluded at  Al  Jamhour Sports Club Stadium in Lebanon on Wednesday.  Team Qatar won 19 medals including 8 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 5 bronze medals to take the second place behind Syria which won 21 medals including 9 gold medals, 7 bronze medals and 5 bronze medals while Iraq finished third with 7 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 6 bronze medals.  On the final day of the event, Qatar’s 4X400m relay team consisted of  Abdulmajeed Zakaria, Abdulrahma Muhammed, Muhammed Noah and Ismail Daoud claimed the gold medal.  Abdulmajeed Zakaria also took the silver medal of 200m event.  Moreover, Layal Ibrahim finished second in girls Heptathlon event and Samar Mansour won the bronze medal of girls triple jump. 

QTTA bids to host 2025 World Table Tennis Championships

DOHA - The Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) announced that it has officially submitted its bid to host the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships.  The host cities’ selection will take place at the 2022 Annual General Meeting to be held on the sidelines of the Chengdu 2022 World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals.  The QTTA President Khalil Al Mohannadi said that the state of Qatar is excited to host the world championships for the second time after the successful edition of the event held in 2004. The ITTF announced recently that it has received official expressions of interest from seven (7) countries to host the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships Finals including Qatar, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America. Held since 1926, the World Table Tennis Championships is the biggest and most prestigious table tennis event of the year, with high historical significance and high interest globally from players, fans, media and partners. It is a festival globally promoting all facets of the sport and its host.

Beach Handball Team off to USA for World Games

DOHA – Qatar’s beach handball team delegation will fly to USA on Friday to participate in  the 11th  World Games will be run from 11 to 15 of July in USA’s city of  Birmingham. Qatar's team will compete in the first group, along with the teams of Denmark, New Zealand, and Croatia, while the second group includes the teams of Brazil, the United States of America, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. This will be the Qatar's team third participation in the World Games, after the 2013 edition in Colombia, and the 2017 edition in Poland. Qatar's beach handball team also qualified for 2023 ANOC World Beach Games after beating Uruguay 2-0 in the fifth-place match at the 2022 Men's Beach Handball World Championships held on the island of Crete, Greece.

Draw for 1st West Asia Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship unveiled

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 7, 2022 – The drawing of lots ceremony for the inaugural West Asia Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship was held online on Wednesday at West Asia Volleyball Association (WAVA) Headquarters in Doha, Qatar, with WAVA Assistant Treasurer and General Secretary of Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) Mr Yousef Kano conducting. The championship will take place at Amir Nayef Bin Abdelaziz Sports Hall in Dammam, Saudi Arabia from July 22 to 31, 2022, with 10 countries vying for top honour in the 10-day competition. According to the draw, Lebanon, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq are in Pool A, with Pool B featuring Qatar, Syria, Kuwait, Palestine and hosts Saudi Arabia. Teams will strut their stuff in the pool round-robin preliminaries. After completion of the pool plays, teams finishing 5th of both pools will fight it out in the 9th-10th playoff. Teams finishing top four in both pools will advance to the cross quarterfinals, with Pool A winners taking on Pool B fourth place, and Pool A second place playing Pool B third-place finishers. Semifinals and classification round for 5th-8th places will be held on July 29. All participating teams will have one-day rest the following day, while the classification round, third place playoff and final showdown will take place on July 31.