Qatar QTerminals Classic to start in Doha today

Doha: Top seed and World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy, British Open winner Paul Coll and former World Champion Tarek Momen will be some of the players who will be vying to lay their hands on the Qatar Terminals Classic trophy at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in the PSA World Tour Platinum event when it kicks off today. The seven-day event, taking place from October 17 will see 48 of the world’s leading male squash players battle it out for the $187,500 prize fund during the 20th edition of the annual premier squash tournament The three-time winner Mohamed ElShorbagy headlines the draw, having won the event in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The last edition of the championship has not been so good for the Egyptian star with the ‘Beast of Alexandria’ suffering a shock defeat at the hands of fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim. This year, Mohamed ElShorbagy will be looking to avenge his shock defeat to Ibrahim when they lock horns in the second round of this year’s tournament, with both players having got first-round byes. Meanwhile, British Open winner New Zealander Coll will be looking to pick up his first title in Doha, having finished runners up to Ali Farag in the final of the 2020 Qatar Classic. The Kiwi will be keen to add to his silverware from Qatar. In last year’s final, Farag took an early lead and Coll then showed his class to fight back in the second game and level the match, but Farag was able to withstand the pressure from the Kiwi to claim  victory, and become a two-time Qatar Classic champion. Farag having won the title in both 2018 and 2020, held either side of the 2019 PSA Men’s World Championships, remains the most recent winner of the event but is missing from this year’s edition. In August this year Coll, who is currently ranked third on the PSA Tour computer, defeated some of the top names in the squash world to bag his maiden title British Open title. In the final he defeat Farag, and in the semi-final he got better of Mohamed ElShorbagy. Coll thus will be aiming to end the reign of the Egyptian players over the Qatar title with Nick Matthew (2009) and Gregory Gaultier (2011), the only non-Egyptians to have won the event in the last 15 years.  Otherwise it has been Egyptians all the way for the last one and half decade. Sixteen matches will be played on the opening day, starting with the match between’s India Ramit Tandon and Greg Lobban of Scotland on the Centre Court. In all eight matches will be played on the centre court while an equal number will be played on other courts. Two Qatari players will also be in action on home soil. Syed Azlan Amjad and Ibrahim Ahmed Al Darwish, both wildcards, will battle it out in the tournament while Qatar’s No.1, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi was forced to pull out as he is recovering from an injury. Qatar’s Amjad will take on Declan James of England in the first round tie at 13.30 while Abdulrahman Al Malki will meet Raphael Kandra of Germany at 14:15.

Sates, McKeon look to continue fine run in Doha

Doha: Overall ranking leaders Matthew Sates (RSA) and Emma McKeon (AUS) are among the top-ranked swimmers, who will take part in the upcoming FINA Swimming World Cup Doha (QAT) 2021. The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) has finalized the line-up for the third meet of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2021, which will be held at the Hamad Aquatic Center, Aspire Zone from October 21 to 23. The penultimate meet of the World Cup series promises thrilling races as the star-studded field looks to secure maximum points before heading to Kazan (RUS), which will be the final stop of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2021 from October 28 to 30. Athletes will come to Doha after competing in Berlin (GER) and Budapest (HUN) meets. “We are looking forward to exciting races in Doha. We are hopeful that it would be another memorable experience for all the participants. We wish best of luck to all the athletes,” QSA President Mr. Khaleel Al-Jabir said in a statement. Rising South African star Sates, who was the overall winner in Berlin, will come to the Qatari capital with an overall lead over second-placed American Tom Shields – a Budapest winner – in the men’s field. Shields was in brilliant form last week as he set a new American record in the 50 fly (25m), hitting 21.99 to overtake Caeleb Dressel’s former mark of 22.04. Dutchman Arno Kamminga, who bagged two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics, will also attempt to improve his third ranking in Doha. Rio Olympics gold medalist Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – occupying fourth spot in the men’s individual ranking – and Lithuanian Danas Rapsys (fifth) are also set to compete at the Hamad Aquatic Center. Overall winner at FINA SWC 2019, Vladimir Morozov (RUS) and his countryman Anton Chupkov have also confirmed their participation. Chupkov reversed his retirement decision and will participate in the swimming event for the first time after the Tokyo Olympics. Tough races are also expected in women’s competitions led by McKeon, who clinched four gold and three bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics. The Aussie topped overall ranks both in the Berlin and the Budapest meets, and she will look to extend her lead in the Doha stop. McKeon is being followed by Dutchwoman Kira Toussaint - European Championships Budapest 2020 gold medalist – on second position in the ranking.  Two more Aussies, Madison Wilson and Holly Barratt – third and fourth in the ranking respectively – will also participate along with fifth-placed Swedish Michelle Coleman. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), who claimed one gold and a silver medal besides setting a world record in the 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Games, is also coming to Doha. Hungarian star Zsuzsanna Jakabos and Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) are the other athletes listed in the line-up. Meanwhile, hosts Qatar will also field 13 of their promising swimmers in the home meet. The team also includes Abdulaziz Al Obaidly, who represented Team Qatar at the Tokyo Olympics. Qatar Team: Abdulaziz Al Obaidly, Abdullatif Ebrahim, Abdulla Ali, Mohammed Fahad, Nour Eddine, Mohammed Ali, Hamza Mahmoud, Mohamed Aziz, Abdulrahman Ali, Abdulla Jassim, Yousef Abdulaziz, Khalid Fahad, Ibrahim Ahmed.

Al Tamimi withdraws from upcoming Qatar Q-Terminals Classic

Doha: World No.35 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi has withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar Q-Terminals Classic, which takes place at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from October 17-23. The Qatari No.1, who always has a big following when he plays in front of his home crowd, injured his calf at the CIB Egyptian Open, and also missed the U.S. Open presented by Truist earlier this month. England’s Patrick Rooney replaces Al Tamimi in the 17/32 seeding bracket, and will now play Hong Kong’s Tsz Fung Yip on the opening day of the tournament. Japanese No.1 Ryosei Kobayashi comes into the draw, taking the spot originally held by Rooney, and plays Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller in the first round.

Team Qatar intensify training ahead of AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers

DOHA - Qatar's U-23 football team have  continued their domestic training sessions at the Aspire Academy’s playgrounds on Tuesday , that in preparation for AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifier which will take place  from  October 31-21 in Doha . Al-Adaam young football gunners were  pooled in group (A) alongside with Syria, Yemen and Sri Lanka, 24 players are participating in these training sessions , with another four players Mohamed Waad, Youssef Abdul Razzaq, Salah Zakaria and Hammam Al Amin will join  the  camp from Oct 13 after they do their duty with first national team in the European qualifiers. During this domestic training  camp, Qatar’s Olympic team  will play two friendly games against Kuwaiti counterparts on Oct 15 and 18 , ahead of  their official campaign in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. A total of 42 teams will be fighting tooth and nail for 15 spots in the U-23 AFC Asian Cup finals which will be held in Uzbekistan.

Al Kuwari wins U13 title at WTT Youth Contender Muscat 2021

DOHA: Qatar’s Sultan Khalid Al Kuwari won the U13 singles title at the WTT Youth Contender Muscat 2021. In the final match, Al Kuwari defeated his team-mate Rawad Al-Nasser 3-2, after a very strong match that extended to the decisive game. The promising paddler edged past his other team-mate Ahmed Korani in the semis 3-1. The tournament is organised by the International Table Tennis Federation with a total of 100 players from 19 countries in the fray.

Stage set for 2021 FINA World Cup meet

Doha: Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) is confident of hosting a successful event as Doha gears up to complete 10 years of hosting the FINA World Cup meets. The Qatari capital – the third stop for the FINA Swimming World Cup 2021 – will stage the competition from October 21 to 23 at the Hamad Aquatic Centre, Aspire Zone. The four-meet series started in Berlin (GER) on October 1 and will move to Budapest (HUN) where swimmers will compete from October 7 to 9. The FINA World Cup 2021 will conclude in Kazan (RUS), which will host the fourth and final event from October 28 to 30. It will be a special occasion for QSA – FINA’s long-time partner – as Doha will achieve a new milestone in its rich history of hosting major swimming events. QSA first organised the World Cup in 2012 and since then it has been staging the meets of this event, except for the last year when COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the FINA calendar.