Qatar to take on Serbia in European Qualifiers

Belgrade: Qatar are looking to return to winning ways in their upcoming European Qualifiers to regain confidence ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, which starts later this month. The Asian champions will play Serbia on Thursday before meeting Azerbaijan on November 14 in their ninth and 10th round of the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Team Qatar are featuring in the event as a guest side to prepare for the home World Cup. The Felix Sanchez-coached side is eager to bounce back from a six-match win-less streak in the upcoming matches to be played in Belgrade and Baku respectively. Qatar started this year brightly and at one stage the Al Annabi were unbeaten in 12 games, with a 1-0 loss to USA at the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final breaking their streak in late July. Qatar’s superb performance as a guest side at the CONCACAF Gold Cup helped them climbed 16 spots to attain 42nd spot in the FIFA World Rankings. It was Qatar’s highest-ever ranking, equalling the mark they set in 1993. However, the Asian champions suffered a dip in form following their CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final defeat. They were beaten by Portugal twice and also lost their matches against Serbia and Republic of Ireland. A 1-1 draw against Luxembourg was the best result for the World Cup hosts in their last six matches. An improved performance in the games against Serbia and Azerbaijan is much-needed for Qatar, who are targeting their maiden Arab Cup title in front of home fans. The highly-anticipated tournament, featuring 16 of Arab world’s top national teams will be played from November 30 to December 18 at Qatar’s six FIFA World Cup venues. The hosts are in tough Group A, which also includes Bahrain, Iraqi and Oman. Qatar defender Bassam Al Rawi recently said the national team will do its best to bounce back ahead of the Arab Cup.  “We must look back at the individual and collective mistakes we made. We must rectify them quickly, especially since we are heading to the Arab Cup on home soil. We must re-evaluate and quickly restore our pride,” he said.  “It begins with us as players, and everyone must review himself. We hope to bounce back in the upcoming matches, starting with the next series of matches in the European qualifiers,” he added. Earlier this week, Sanchez announced strong Qatar squad for the upcoming games. The squad includes Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Al Moez Ali and goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb. On Monday, Sanchez also included Al Rayyan winger Nayef Al Hadrami, who trained with the squad. Both the European Qualifiers will kick off at 8pm, Qatar time.

Team Qatar to participate in ASIA-AFRICA Qualifications for World Padel Championship

Dubai: The Qatari national padel team will participate in ASIA - AFRICA Qualifications for Qatar OOREDOO World Padel Championship to begin in Dubai on Thursday. Team Qatar were drawn in Group (B) alongside Senegal and Iran while Group (A) includes Japan, Egypt and UAE. The world championship will be staged at Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex from November 15-20, 2021 with participation of 320 players from 16 nations. Qatar Squad: Abdulaziz Salah Al Kuwari, Mohamed Saadoun Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Kuwari, Abdullah Al Heji, Mohamed Abdullah, Jabor Al Motawa, Essa Shanan and Mousa Shanan.

Qatar's Meshari Nawaf Wins Qatar Asian Junior Tournament

DOHA - (QNA) - Qatari player Meshari Nawaf won the Qatar Asian Junior Tournament for U-14, which was organized by the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) over a week at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex with the participation of a group of Asian players. Nawaf won the title, after defeating his Jordanian counterpart, Muhammad Al Qurna, 6-1, 6-2 in the final match. In the boys' doubles category for under 14 years, Qataris Ghanem Al Sulaiti and Mashari Nawaf dominated the title of this category, after they defeated the duo consisting of Kuwaiti Mohammed Al Awadi and Jordanian Mohammed Al Qurna in two sets to one, 6-1, 2-6, 10-5. In the girls' doubles category for under 14 years, Qataris Mishael Al Khanji and Khadija Qassama won the title of this category, after defeating the Qataris, Jannat Sheikh and Safia Al-Thani, in two sets without a response, 6-1, 7-6. In a statement, Secretary-General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation, Tariq Zainal, said: "We congratulate the Qatari players for the titles they achieved during this Asian tournament, in which high-ranking players from the yellow continent participated, and we commend the technical level in which they appeared and the efforts they made despite the challenges imposed by the Corona pandemic, which limited their participation in some tournaments.

QOC participates in International Forum for Sports Integrity

DOHA- The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) participated in the fourth edition of International Forum for Sports Integrity organized by the International Olympic Committee on November 9, 2021. The QOC was represented by Sheikh Ahmad Nooh Al-Thani, Director of Legal Affairs Department and Mrs. Zahra Al-Zaidan, Head of Legal Studies Unit. The Forum brought together over 500 representatives of the Olympic Movement, governments, intergovernmental agencies and other experts to discuss how to improve the prevention of corruption in sport, in particular through the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), which was created during the second edition of the IFSI in 2017. The event also provided an important platform for exchanges between sports organisations, intergovernmental organisations such as the UNODC, OECD, Council of Europe and INTERPOL, as well as government representatives. The forum also highlighted the efforts made by the Olympic movement unit on prevention of manipulation of competitions and urged the countries to sign the council of Europe convention on manipulation of sports competitions.

Qatar Defeat Iran in International Handball Championship

Doha- Qatar defeated Iran 35-24 in the final game of the Qatar International Four-Nation Handball Championship, which was organized by the Qatar Handball Association (QHA) with the participation of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iran. Qatar sealed first place with three victories over Kuwait 32-19, Saudi Arabia 25-18, and Iran 35-24. Also, Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait 29-28. QHA President Ahmed Al Shaabi praised the level witnessed by the Qatar International Four-Nation Championship, stressing that it had achieved its goals. Al Shaabi said that the tournament is part of the Qatar National Handball Team preparation for the 20th Asian Men's Handball Championship in Saudi Arabia in January, which qualifies for the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship in Poland and Sweden. QHA Secretary-General Mohammed Jaber Al Mulla said that Qatar's victory in the three matches of the international championship reflects the great seriousness of the technical staff to reach the maximum readiness before participating in the 20th Asian Men's Handball Championship. (QNA)

Team Qatar lineup for European Qualifiers

Doha: The Qatari national football team stepped up their preparations for the 9th and 10th rounds of the European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Asian champions Qatar will be taking on Serbia and Azerbaijan on November 11 and 14 in Belgrade and Baku respectively. By appearing in European qualifiers, Qatar will get valuable match practice ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™, which will be held in Qatar from November 30 to December 18. At the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™, Qatar will play Bahrain in the opening match followed by games against Iraqi and Oman. The squad: Saad Al Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, Youssef Hassan, Salah Zakaria, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualem Khoukhi, Bassam Al Rawi, Sultan Al Brake, Tarek Salman, Ismail Mohammed, Jasem Gaber, Homam Al Amin, Musab Khedir, Karim Boudiaf, Abdulaziz Hatem, Abdullah Al Ahrak, Ali Asad, Yousef Abdurisag, Mohammed Waad, Khalid Muneer, Assim Madibo, Ahmed Alaaeldin, Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Muhammed Muntari and Almoez Ali.