Team Qatar arrive in Greece to participate in Beach Handball World Championships

Doha: Qatar's national beach handball team arrived in Greece on Wednesday to participate in the 2022 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championships this month.  Team Qatar were placed in Group D alongside Brazil, Portugal and New Zealand.  Team Qatar secured their place in the world championships after claiming the second place in the 8th Asian Beach Handball Championships held in Tehran in March 2022.  On the other hand, Qatar qualified to main round of the 2022 IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship on Wednesday.  After losing against Sweden and Iran, Qatar's qualification through to the main round at Greece 2022 was hanging in the balance. A loss against the USA would see them into the consolation round, and a win would see them into the main round. They prevailed 2-0, and with it, will now face France and Croatia in main round group I, with the winners of Brazil and Togo later the third team they will face.  

Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships to begin on Wednesday

Doha: A total of 137 competitors from 21 countries will vie for top honours at the 9th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships beginning at the Aspire Dome on Wednesday. The event, which concludes on Saturday, acts as a qualification for the World Championships to be held in Liverpool, England, from October 29 to November 6. Among the aspirants is eight-time Olympian, Uzbekistan’s 46-year-old Oksana Chusovitina. Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) President Ali Al Hitmi, who is also the chairman of the organising committee, said the event was another opportunity for the country to showcase their ability as hosts. “This’ll be another opportunity to show to the world what Qatar is capable of as hosts of major international competitions. Like in the past, as organisers, we always want to excel. This time too, we’ll produce an exceptional competition. We’re always thankful to Qatar Olympic Committee for their support. QGF also thanks the other stakeholders who’ve contributed immensely,” he said. Qatari challenger Rakan Mesfer Al Harith hoped to give off his best. “This championship is an opportunity to compete with top gymnasts and gain valuable experience. I’ll do my best to qualify for the final,” he said.  

Australia, Japan, Korea, and Iran lock Quarter-Finals berth at U16 Asian Championship 2022

DOHA - Australia wrapped up their run in the Group Phase with yet another resounding win, 88-41, which actually lowers their average margin of victory down to 57.4 per game. The losing side of this game, Bahrain, actually held the lead for the majority of the first quarter, a total of 6:38 minutes, before the Crocs unleashed a 20-0 to leave their opponents in the dust. All of the fielded Australia players got on the scoreboard while shooting 54.5 percent from the field as a team, with 4 players scoring in double digits. It was once again another impressive game from Rocco Zikarsky, who continues to turn heads with his play here in Qatar. The center had 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just under 20 minutes of action. With the win, the Crocs advance directly to the Quarter-Finals where they await the winner of the Qualifying Phase game between the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Bahrain are effectively eliminated from the competition. The second game of the day gave us our first overtime session of the competition as Korea and New Zealand battled down to the wire with the former team coming out on top, 73-79. New Zealand had led by as much as 12 points on the power of their inside players, but were unable to hold on to that cushion. Korea had the chance to end the game in regulation with two free-throw attempts to take the lead with one second to go, but Ko Chan You missed both shots to send the game to an extra period. Ko made up for his late game misses and took over in overtime, finishing the game with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. The win advances Korea directly to the Quarter-Finals where they await the winner of the game between Lebaon and Qatar in the Qualifying Phase. For New Zealand, they will face Kuwait in the Qualifying Phase for a shot at playing against Iran in the Quarter-Finals. Another marquee matchup of the day was between Japan and the Philippines, a rematch of the Qualifiers from the 2018 edition of the competition. While the Philippines won narrowly the last time these two teams matched up, it would be Japan who would come out victorious in another close game, 73-67. The first half was showtime for Yuto Kawashima, who already had a double-double by halftime and nearly outscored the Philippines all by himself heading into the locker room with 21 points. Kawashima would end the game with 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Philippines rallied back in the second half as Caelum Harris found his groove, overcoming a 0-5 shooting slump at the start of the game to finish with 18 points. In the end, it was not enough to get the Philippines the lead, leaving Japan as the undefeated team from Group C. Japan will now go directly to the Quarter-Finals and await the winner of the Qualifying Phase clash between India and Indonesia. India survived an early surge from the hosts Qatar before blowing through the second half for a big victory, 77-51. The key core four of India, Harsh Dagar, Jaideep Rathore, Kushal Singh, and Lokendra Singh, continues to shoulder the bulk of the work for the team. The quartet put up solid numbers in yet another impressive performance for India. Both teams will advance to play in the Qualifying Phase. As previously mentioned, India will face Indonedia for a chance at facing Japan in the Quarter-Fianls, while Qatar will face Lebanon for a shot to advance and play against Korea. The final game of the day ended with Iran coming out on top of their regional rivals Lebanon, 73-56. Lebanon never led throughout the entire game, but managed to stay energetic and keep the game close, especially early in the second half. The key point for Iran in this game was their defense which forced Lebanon to commit 20 turnovers, turning into 20 points for the victors. Mohammad Amini was once again the star of the game for Iran, posting an jaw-dropping line of 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 steals. Sarem Jafari also added in 18 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. The win puts Iran directly in the Semi-Finals of the competition as they await the result of the game between New Zealand and Kuwait in the Qualifying Phase. Lebanon, in the meanwhile, will play against Qatar on Jun 16 for the opportunity to advance and face Korea.  

DOHA all set to host Senior Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

DOHA: Some of the world's and continent's well-known men and women gymnasts fine-tuned their skills and techniques at the Aspire Dome on Monday as they prepare for the 9th Senior Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships.  The men's (MAG) and women's (WAG) competition will be held at the Aspire Dome from Wednesday (June 15) until Saturday (June 18).  A total of 137 gymnasts from 21 countries will be fighting for top honours at the event which will be one of the qualify competitions for this year's FIG World Artistic Championships in Liverpool (United Kingdom).    The competition hall is being readied for the top competition as the Organising Committee are putting in their best efforts to make this event successful. Qatar will be hosting the Asian Championships after 2008. Mohammed Abdullah Al Maraghi, chairman of Public Relations and Media Committees at the Local Organising Committee (LOC), exuded confidence ahead of the four-day event.   The Qatari capital Doha, hosts of this year's FIFA World Cup, has had hosted many major sports competitions including the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. "By hosting this event in the best possible way, we want to showcase Qatar's excellent infrastructure besides the organising capabilities to the world," said Al Maraghi, who is the Assistant Secretary General at Qatar Gymnastics Federation.  Meanwhile, the LOC held a coordination meeting yesterday to discuss on the overall readiness of the venue and other logistical matters related to the championships.  "We are confident of organising the Asian Championship successfully like we did with other top events in the past,” added Al Maraghi.  

Younousse and Tijan qualify to Round of 32

Rome: Tokyo bronze medallists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar secured their advancement to the Round of 32 at the Beach Volleyball World Championships Rome 2022 on Monday.  The Qatari duo lived up to their status in Pool D and mastered a 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) victory over Youssef Krou and Arnoud Gauthier-Rat of France to lead the standings of their pool.  Younousse and Tijan were up to a positive debut in Pool D, where they topped Paraguayans Roger Battilana and Gonzalo Melgarejo in two sets (21-13, 21-12), then they defeated Americans Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander in straight sets (21-14, 21-15).  The Beach Volleyball World Championships Rome 2022 are a key highlight of the sport’s calendar this year and most of the 96 teams currently competing at the Foro Italico spent months preparing for this moment.  

QBF all set to host FIBA U-16 Asian Championship

DOHA – The Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has unveiled all technical and organizational measures of the prestigious FIBA U-16 Asian Championship during a press conference held Steigenberger Hotel Doha at on Saturday. This championship will begin on Sunday  At Al Gharafa Indoor Hall and will  last until June 19. It brings together 13 teams are pooled into four groups. Qatar’s young basketball players will face off against the continent’s best in the coming week when the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship gets underway at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall on Sunday. The home team takes on Bahrain in their opening match and then has to contend with defending champions Australia, and India in the four-team Group A. Coach Yasir Ahmed said the competition presented a tough challenge but his players hoped to benefit from the intense preparation since April. “We’ve trained together for the last two months and played five friendly matches in the last week. The players have shown good cohesion and we’ll give off our best to go as far as we can,” he said. As regards the group matches, he said, “We know about Bahrain as we’ve played them before in a GCC tournament and we’re prepared. India and Australia are good teams for sure but we’re ready for the challenge.” Ahmed also hoped to capitalise on the home advantage. “The tournament is being played on our court and we’ll have plenty of support from family and friends and that’ll work to our advantage,” he said. China, three-time champions since the tournament began in 2009, are not participating this year. South Korea, winners in 2015, are in Group D with New Zealand and Kazakhstan. The 13 teams in the competition have been divided into four groups. Apart from Qatar’s cluster, the remaining groups feature three teams each. The group toppers progress directly to the quarterfinals while the second and third placed teams face off in a cross-over format to decide the remaining four last-eight teams.