Team Qatar to participate in ISSF World Cup in Cairo

Doha: The Qatari national shooting team will participate in the 2022 ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) to be held in Cairo, Egypt from February 26 to March 08. The event will bring together 506 shooters from 60 countries. The state of Qatar will be represented by Asyha Al Suwaidi (Rifle), Nasrah Mohamed, Mohamed Al Tamimi and Usama Al Shaiba (Pistol).

Team Qatar claim Epee bronze medal in Asian Juniors and Cadets Championships

Tashkent: Team Qatar claimed the bronze medal of Epee team event at the 2022 Asian Juniors and Cadets Fencing Championships being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan until March 03. Team Qatar squad includes Mohammed Al Hazaa, Meshaal Al Qahtani, Jaber Al Fadaaj and Mohammed Al Awlan. In the quarterfinals, Qatar defeated Kyrgyzstan 45-41 before losing to hosts Uzbekistan 44-45 in the semifinals.

Brazil’s Zanotelli Wins Grand Tour Title

Doha: Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli won the CSI 5* International Jumping Competition (1.60M) on the second day of the ninth Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab presented by Longines, in Doha on Friday. The second day’s competitions were attended by the Qatar Olympic Committee President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani. Brazilian Marlon Modolo Zanotelli produced a superb performance on the second day of the event. Going to the jump-off as the fourth rider, he pushed hard from the start to take the outright lead in the CS15* International jumping competition (1.60M). Switzerland’s Martin Fuches gave him a late scare, but could not prevent Marlon’s triumph. Meanwhile, Swede Patrik Kittel and his horse Touchdown won the top prize in the FEI5* Dressage event. Marlon, riding "Like A Diamond van het Schaeck" was unstoppable. He crossed the finish line in 41.43 seconds less than half a second faster than Fuchs and Sweden's Maline Baryard-Johnsson. Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher won the 5* international jumping Speed and Handiness Contest in style. The 50-year-old guided Vestmalle Des Cotis to the title in 60.62sec. He comfortably finished ahead of the Netherlands’s Jur Vrieling (Fernando H, 61.06) and Bart Bles (Gin D, 61.98).

Olympic Movement Principles Training Course concludes

Doha: The Olympic Movement Principles Training Course organized by the Qatar Olympic Academy (OCA) was concluded on Thursday. The five-day training course was organized in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee. The course lecturer Dr. Maha Zaoui, former advisor to the minister of youth and sports in Tunisia focused lights on the concepts of the sports management and beginning of Olympic movement and Olympics games. She also highlighted administrative skills and the steps to develop the administrators of sports institutions to help them accomplish more achievements. The Olympic Movement Principles Training Course is one of most important training courses on the QOA calendar as it provides trainees with the knowledge, they need to begin their careers at Olympic institutions.

Swiatek wins Qatar TotalEnergies Open title

Doha: Iga Swiatek claimed the second WTA 1000 title of her career, and her fourth WTA singles title overall, with a scintillating display in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open championship match. Swiatek won the final 10 games of the clash. Iga Swiatek charged to her first title of the season on Saturday, as the No.7 seed from Poland cruised past No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-2, 6-0 to win the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. In an overpowering display of all-court mastery, Swiatek took just over an hour to sweep to victory at the WTA 1000 event and end St. Petersburg champion Kontaveit's nine-match winning streak. Swiatek famously triumphed at the clay-court Grand Slam event at Roland Garros in 2020 for her first career title, but she now has just as many hard-court titles as clay-court titles in her career, with two apiece. The 20-year-old Pole continues to dominate in finals once she gets to them. Since her only runner-up finish on tour, at Lugano in 2019, Swiatek has dropped a total of 11 games in the four finals she has won. Kontaveit came into the match having reached more finals and won more matches than anyone on tour since the start of 2021 — this was her ninth final during that stretch, and she has prevailed in 61 matches within that timeframe. Swiatek is now 3-2 against Kontaveit, and the Pole has won their last three meetings, including at Roland Garros and the US Open last season. Swiatek has now won three matches in a row against Top 10 opposition this week, improving to 8-7 overall against that cohort.

Fredricson off to perfect start at CHI Al Shaqab

Doha: With attendance of President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Chairman of Al Shaqab H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the ninth edition of Commercial Bank CHI Al SHAQAB Presented by Longines got underway. World No. 1 Peder Fredricson threw down the gauntlet to his rivals ahead of a busy weekend as the Swede clinched the feature class on day one of the event. Under the lights at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab on Thursday, the 50-year-old was in a different class as he partnered with his powerful 14-year-old bay Hansson WL to an effortless victory in the CSI5* 1.55m class. The pair clocked a winning time of 64.83 seconds, to finish a second ahead of Christian Ahlmann of Germany. Ahlmann, astride Solid Gold Z, led for the most part before Fredricson stole it at the end. Henrik Von Eckermann completed the podium with his little speed demon Glamour Girl in a time of 65.96 seconds. Fredricson, who has a team gold medal from Tokyo Olympics to go with three silver medals from different Games – was the last to stride out and the Swede knew exactly what he had to do. “I knew I needed to take short turns without losing control to beat Christian’s time. It is an amazing horse. I like to start last, because it gives you an advantage. I had watched Christian, so I knew exactly what to do,” said Fredricson. “The course was difficult, especially the sixth hurdle was tricky. The facilities are great at Al Shaqab and it’s always a pleasure to jump here,” he added. Fredricson will now turn his attention to weekend’s Grand Prix, where he will start as a heavy favourite. Earlier, the first big class of the championship was a thrilling affair, with Ireland’s Denis Lynch topping the CSI5* 1.45m class with his grey stallion Cornets Iberio. The pair finished the second phase with the fastest time of 32.09 seconds. Norway’s Geir Gulliksen (gelding VDL Groep Quatro) and Frenchman Simon Delestre (Dexter Fontenis Z) clocked identical times of 32. 96 seconds to share second spot. Meanwhile, Qatar's dressage rider Wejdan Majed al-Malki is all excited to make her debut in the Dressage CDI 5* Grand Prix Test event at Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines 2022 today in a world-class field aiming to stay on course for qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 44-year-old Al Malki, will make history as being the first Qatari woman dressage rider to compete in a five-star event. Highly experienced having competed in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, she is keen to give off her best in front of the Qatari fans who will be present to encourage and support her in this global event. Al-Malki has been training in Spain and in Britain and has participated in three star events. Speaking about her participation, al-Malki said, "I am excited and at the same time a bit nervous. But, still it will be a proud day for me to compete against world class riders. My aim is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris and this experience will help me achieve that goal. I also want to participate at the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) World Cup events. These tournaments will be an important step in my career."