Qatar defeat Maldives in Asia Qualifiers for 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

Doha: Qatar's national cricket team defeated Maldives 154-56 in their second match at the Western region Asia Qualifiers for 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup being held in Doha until October 29. The six-day tournament brings together Qatar, against Bahrain, Maldives, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in a round robin format, with the top team joining Hong Kong at the next round - the eight-team global qualifiers. Qatar Squad: Iqbal Hussain Chaudhry (Capt), Mohamed Rizlan (wk), Kamran Khan, Mohamed Tanveer, Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim, Imal Malindu, Gayan Buddika, Musawar Shah, Mohamed Nadeem, Dharmang Patel, Mohamed Murad Khan, Andri Berenger, Sandun Vithanage and Mohamed Ikramullah.

QOC Wins NOC Breakthrough Award

Sheikh Joaan receives the award at ANOC Awards 2021 The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) was bestowed the National Olympic Committees' (NOC) Breakthrough Award by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on Sunday. The QOC President H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani received the award at the ANOC Awards 2021 held on the sidelines of the ANOC General Assembly in Crete, Greece. The NOC Breakthrough Award is presented to the NOCs who won their first-ever Olympic medal or first-ever Olympic gold medal. Qatar clinched two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with team Qatar's weightlifter Fares Ibrahim winning the gold medal at the 96kg event and Mutaz Barshim claiming the gold medal of the men's high jump event. Moreover, Qatar's beach volleyball duo won Arab's first-ever Olympic medal in team sports in Tokyo.

Team Qatar swimmers win nine Medals at Arab Championship

ABU DHABI  - Qatar's national swimming team confidently claimed  nine medals (3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze) on Sunday  in the inaugural  Arab swimming championship of  all age groups (25 meters), hosted by Abu Dhabi, with the participation of 174 swimmers from 16 countries. Qatar's Tamim Mohamed clinched  the gold medal in  the 100m butterfly event  for the 14-15 year category; Mohamed Mahmoud won the gold medal in  the 200m medley race for the 16-18 year category; and Qatar’s relay team consisting of Youssef Hassan, Karim Salah, Omar Hassan and Mohamed Mahmoud won  the gold medal in the 4x50m free race for 16-18 years old. On the same track of  victory, Abdulaziz Al Obaidli won the silver medal in  the 200-meter medley race for the 19 years and above category, meanwhile  Omar Hassan claimed  the silver medal of  the same race for the 16-18 years category 4 x 50 meters freestyle 14-15 year old; Tamim Mohammed won the bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke for the 14-15-year-old category; Youssef Hassan also won the bronze medal for the same race for the 16-18-year-old category; and Karim Muhammad won the bronze medal in the 1500-meter freestyle for the 16-18-year-old category. The Qatari national swimming team participating in the championship includes ten swimmers, namely: Abdulaziz Al Obaidli, Mohammed Mahmoud, Omar Ashraf, Yousef Ashraf, Karim Salama, Tamim Mohammed, Abdullah Al Khalidi, Saif Al Bu Rashid, Ali Al Naimi and Abdulla Al Ghamri. The Qatari team's delegation includes Ibrahim Al Rumaihi as manager; and Omar Khadash and Gesta Fobiza as coaches.

Diego Elias wins maiden title in Qatar

Doha: Peru's Diego Elias overcame the challenge of British Open winner Paul Coll to win the 2021 Qatar QTerminals Classic at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha on Saturday. The World No.8 defeated the New Zealander, ranked third on the PSA computer to pick up his maiden title in Qatar and also his first Platinum one and ninth PSA circuit triumph.  Elías , gold medalist at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games , won 13-11, 5-11, 13-11 and 11-9 against his good friend and training partner and world No.3 after fighting it for 83 minutes on the glass court. The Peruvian thus was able to take revenge of his loss to Coll at the British Open in August this year, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. “I can’t believe it still. i am very happy with this, very happy with my game! I want to thank everyone for coming today, and thanks to all the Peruvian people who came, that is a massive help for me!” Elias said. “Just very happy to be a Platinum champion for the first time. I have been trying for a long time now, so I am very happy and I want to thank all the organiser. This tournament is always the best, they treat us so well, it is incredible to be the champion here. “Paul is my closest friend on Tour and it is the first time in forever that there are no Egyptians in a final, so we were very happy for that! He is such a great champion, he is an inspiration for anyone that plays squash, or any sport really. I am a massive fan too and I train with him too! “I am very happy and I want to thank everyone who supported me since I started.  My dad has been with me since the start. He has been my coach, and after that I started training with Jonathon [Power] for a long time. He has been a massive help as well so I have a great team with me! My physio that I have seen, they helped me be back here. In July I didn’t even know if I could play matches in a row, and now in October, to be a champion is just incredible. I am just very happy with this! Coll said: “It is hard to see those [positives] now, but I am happy to be back here in Doha, competing in another final on such a great stage. It’s a really well-run tournament, a massive thank you to the sponsors, to QTerminals for being the main sponsor here, and to the Qatar Squash Federation for putting on such a great event and making the players feel special. They look after us the best on Tour, so it is a pleasure to be here. “All of my sponsors, they really make my life easy. I feel like they are a part of my team and not just a sponsor. To everyone who helps me out, especially my coaches, Bart [Wijnhoven] my mental coach, and Rob Owen, my squash coach. i thought we had a good plan this week, unfortunately I just didn’t quite convert it. I had game balls tonight in every set but I just couldn't close it out. A massive thanks to my team, I could do this without them. “Thank you everyone for turning out again, not just tonight but all week, we appreciate so thank you very much!”  

Australia’s Mckeon bags two gold medals as Doha World Cup meet concludes

Doha: Australian superstar Emma Mckeon clinched two gold medals to steal the limelight on the final night at the Hamad Aquatic Center as the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2021 concluded on Saturday.        Mckeon, coming to the Qatari capital with an overall lead, won the women's 100m freestyle with a time of 51.15 for her second gold on the last day of the three-day meet. Mckeon’s team-mate Madison Wilson (51.95) and Swede Michelle Coleman (52.17) secured second and third positions respectively in the event.  “I am pretty happy as it’s been a time since I got a double. I went with a mindset to win and I am happy with my time. Doha is a beautiful place and we loved our time here,” Mckeon said after her victory.   Earlier, Mckeon, who won four gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, recorded a comfortable victory in women's 100m butterfly with a time of 55.83, outpacing Switzerland’s Maria Ugolkova (56.94) and team-mate Holly Barratt (57.78). In a star-studded men's 50m butterfly final, American Tom Shields (22.22) defeated Australia’s Kyle Chalmers (22.24) for another gold medal in Doha. Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo clinched bronze medal with a time of 22.27.  It was Shields’ second butterfly gold after his 100m win on the opening day. However, the American star lost to South Africa’s Pieter Coetze in the 100m backstroke final later in the evening.  Coetze clocked 50.86 to clinch another victory with Shields taking silver with a time of 51.12. Yakov Toumarkin (ISR) came third in 51.54.  “A great finish to racing in Doha. Now I can go home and enjoy. I really enjoyed my time in Doha,” said 17-year-old Coetze.   Meanwhile, Japanese star Daiya Seto denied Dutchman Arno Kamminga a sweep in breaststroke events in Doha after winning the 200m race with a time of 2:01.65.  Kamminga, who claimed 50m and 100m breaststroke victories on the first two days of the meet, had to content with a silver medal after he touched the finish line in 2:02.05. Russia’s Anton Chupkov was third with a time of 2:03.08.   “I am very surprised to win this race. I am very happy victory and with my time in the race,” said Seto.  Also on Saturday, Sunwoo Hwang (KOR) notched up another victory in Doha, winning the men's 200m freestyle in 1:41.17. Rising South African star Matthew Sates was second with a time of 1:41.33 while Danas Rapsys (LTU) secured third position in 1:42.26.  “It is my first World Cup event and I am very happy with my performance. It was a difficult race as my opponents were very tough,” the South Korean said after sealing an impressive win.    Dutchwoman Kira Toussaint also excelled on the final night, securing her third gold medal in as many days as she topped the women's 200m backstroke final with a time of 2:02.12.  “It is my second best time and I am very pleased with the time. I am happy to win another gold medal. My favourite is 50m [backstroke],” said Toussaint.   Michelle Coleman (SWE) and Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) finished second and third after finishing the race in 2:06.43 and 2:10.14 respectively.  In the women's 50m breaststroke final, Russia’s Yuliya Efimova sealed victory in 30.11, with Belgium’s Fanny Lecluyse (30.48) and South Korean Suyeon Back (31.01) taking silver and bronze medals respectively.   “I am happy with my performance here and now I am looking for another stop in Kazan,” said Efimova as she wrapped up the Doha meet.    In final event of the meet, Switzerland’s Maria Ugolkova won a gold medal in women's 200m individual medley. She raced to victory in 2:07.21, beating Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:09.37) and Slovenian Katja Fain (2:10.58) “It is definitely a fine way to end the event. I love the races and it was an exciting competition,” said Ugolkova.  Athletes will now head to Kazan for the fourth and final meet of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2021 series, which will be held from October 28 to 30.  

Coll and Elias set up Qatar Qterminals Classic final contest

Doha, Qatar:  A new Qatar QTerminals Classic winner will emerge in Doha on Saturday when World No.3 Paul Coll of New Zealand and World No.8 Diego Elias of Peru clash in the first non-Egyptian final of the PSA World Tour Platinum event at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.  For Elias, this will be his maiden final in Qatar and also his first Platinum one, while for the British Open winner Coll  Saturday’s title clash will be his third successive final in Doha. Coll’s first final was at the PSA World Championships in 2019 and he followed it up with another at the Qatar QTerminals Classic last season, finishing on the losing side on both occasions. On Friday, the Kiwi took just 46 minutes to dispose off the challenge of Egyptian US Open champion Mostafa Asal winning in straight games 11-9, 11-8, 11-4. By virtue of his win over Asal , Coll set up a first non-Egyptian final in 15 years at the World Tour Platinum event with Elias defeating Joel Makin in the other last four clash. Coll will be hoping to be lucky the third time around as he squares up to Elias in the final. “I love it. I’ve been saying all week third time lucky, so I hope tomorrow I can do it. I love coming to Qatar every year, I love this court and I’ve got a good feeling on it. Third time lucky would be great, I’m playing my good mate Diego, so I’m sure it will be a good battle.” Coll said he changed his tactics going into the semi-final and it worked well for him. “When you get him in the draw you know it’s going to be brutal and tough. He had an incredible US Open, I’ve got big respect for how he backed up four five-setters in a row, but for me it was a huge mental battle and a hurdle I had to get over to beat him. I’m very happy with my performance today, I changed my tactics a little bit and it worked well for me, said the 29-year-old New Zealander. Earlier, Elias became the first Peruvian to ever reach the final of a major PSA event after his 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 win over Wales’ World No.9 Joel Makin.  “I’m very happy to reach my first (major) final,” Elias said after the match. “It’s been six years that I’m in the top 15 and I’ve never made it here, so I’m very happy. I played one of the worst tournaments of my career in the first few rounds and today, I played one of the best matches, I’m very happy and looking forward to tomorrow,” he added. Elais was happy he was able to shed off his indifferent form and play get back into the top form against Makin on Friday. “Today, I played an amazing match, Joel was getting some incredible balls back. I had to work really hard and I’m happy I stayed positive the whole match and got the win,” he added. “I’m relaxed, I’ll be ready tomorrow. I lost in the British Open with Paul (Coll), so I’m ready for my revenge and I’m excited for tomorrow.”