Qatar defeat Australia in Asian Volleyball Championship

Chiba, Japan, September 16, 2021 – Qatar gained a good start at the Quarterfinal stage of the 21st Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) against Australia on Thursday afternoon at the Chiba Port Arena. Youssef Oughlaf, Belal Nabel Abunabot, and Nikola Vasic were Qatar’s main scorers as they combined for a total of 37 points. Australia started the match with their system running, activating a strong middle with captain Nehemiah Mote, while Thomas Edgar held fort at right wing. They also showed how tight they could play in transition, given their adept floor defense. Qatar needed to find a way to work around their opponents’ quality but committed costly errors on attack. They tried serving better as captain Ibrahim Ibrahim managed three aces, to come within a point, 13-12. They also activated the middle attack to add to Oughlaf’s right wing mission. As their opponents suffered from errors, Qatar took the first set, 25-20. The Qatar side enforced their middle game further with Abunabot upfront. They also earned off their opponent’s numerous attack miscues and service errors. During extended sequences, setter Milos Stevanovic made good decisions to ultimately enable his hitters toward a good swing. Oughlaf operated with more energy and consistency from the right flank, which helped Qatar succeed with 25-20 in the second set. In the third set, Australia changed up their right-wing hitter to Curtis Stockton, who was able to connect on several plays. Max Staples and Edgar were set up from the left side, but the Volleyroos could not seem to get their rhythm going. They needed to control the middle more to increase their chances of getting back in the match. Qatar found good benefit from Vasic who swung from the flanks and also played fantastic game on the receive. He scored the final point for Qatar’s 25-21 finish in the final set. On Friday, Qatar will face China, with Australia playing the hosts Japan in the main event at Chiba Port Arena.

Amal wins another medal at Asian Championship

Kazakhstan: Qatar’s Amal Muhammad yesterday clinched second medal at the 14th Asian Airgun Championship in as many days, claiming a bronze medal in the 10m running target mixed individual event in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.   Amal faced a close fight from shooters in the event, particularly from Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, ending up in third position following a tie-breaker.   “My aim was to win a second gold after I entered the tie-breaker. It was a close fight and I am still happy to win second medal for Qatar,” Amal said yesterday.   “This is a competitive championship and I am gaining valuable experience which will help me in future events,” she added.  Over 150 top shooters from many countries are participating in the continental event.

QADC holds the founding meeting of the National Compliance Platform

DOHA:The Qatar Anti-Doping Commission (QADC) held its  first founding meeting of the  National Compliance Platform at the QOC Headquarters on Wednesday, to develop an effective Anti-Doping Strategy in the state of Qatar. The meeting was attended by representatives of ministries and national institutions including Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Public Prosecution, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Culture and Sport, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, General Authority of Customs, Qatar Media Corporation, Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Aspetar and Qatar Olympic Committee. The launch of National Compliance Platform comes on the light of Qatar commitment as a signatory member to Copenhagen Declaration, World Antidoping Code and International Convention Against Doping in Sport. The meeting focused lights on the National Compliance Platform and reviewed the history, objectives and achievements of the QADC. The QADC Executive Director Nasser Saad said that the violations of World Anti-Doping Code transcends national borders and affect all national institutions. "The international community argued all the stakeholders and signatory members to develop the suitable mechanisms to unite national efforts and to organize doping-free sports competitions" he added.

Qatar to take on Vietnam in Davis Cup

Amman: Qatar’s Davis Cup team will face off against Vietnam and Pacific Oceania in Pool B of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group III contests which got underway in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday. Qatar, ranked 81 in Davis Cup, will take on the higher-placed Vietnam (71) in their first match on Wednesday. The teams have played each other twice before, with Vietnam prevailing on both occasions. In 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam won 3-0 while in 2005, in Hong Kong, Qatar went down by a similar margin. Qatar have a 4-2 win-loss record against Pacific Oceania, ranked 92. The last time the teams met was in 2014, in the Group IV Asia/Oceania first round in Tehran. Qatar had won 2-1. Qatar will rely on brothers Rashed and Mashari Nawaf, Mousa Shanan Zayed and Sultan Khalfan Al Alawi to see them through. The draw for the event was held on Tuesday with Pool A featuring Hong Kong, Kuwait and Malaysia while Pool C has Syria, Sri Lanka and hosts Jordan. The top two teams in each group then play off against each other with the best three qualifying for the World Group II Playoffs next year.

Al-Kuwari and Al-Buenain attend OCA Executive Board meeting

Kuwait: HE Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (West Asia) and HE Mr. Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (2030 Doha Asian Games) attended the OCA Executive Board meeting held on Monday through video conference call under the chairmanship of the OCA Acting President Raja Randhir Singh. The meeting heard updates on the next four multi-sport games, starting with the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand in March 2022, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September 2022, the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Shantou, China in December 2022 and the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, now due to take place in 2023. The meeting also reviewed the location and format of the OCA General Assembly later this year.

Qatar defeat Bahrain in Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship

Chiba, Japan: Qatar claimed their second victory to complete their run in Preliminary Round – Pool A of the 21st Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Qatar side staged a straight-sets match (25-19, 25-20,26-24) against Bahrain on Tuesday afternoon at the Chiba Port Arena. Youssef Oughlaf led all scorers on the field with 15 points (13 attacks, 1 block, 1 service ace). Qatar imposed a strong presence at the start of the match. Oughlaf exploded on the right side while Renan Ribeiro ran the left side. Belal Nabel Abunabot stood firm on block-defense to make Bahrain difficult in attacking opportunities. Ali Ebrahim scored on several plays but Bahrain could not seem to establish a god tempo on offense. Coach Marco Queiroga brought in his players from the bench to gain a fresh approach. The substitutes succeeded in several sequences but the Bahrain team later fell out, giving the first set, 25-19, in favor of Qatar. By the next set, Naser Anan brought in his flair from the flanks, to help Bahrain regain their momentum. Abbas AlKhabbaz also kept a close watch on block-defense. Meanwhile, Qatar kept playing to their strengths, with setter Milos Stevanovic activating the attacks with much variety, to take the second set, 25-20. Bahrain established better quality of plays in the third set, as coach Camilo Andres Soto retained his substitutes on the court. Moahmed Anan sparked the offense from the flanks. They also played well in transition and they showed a seamless coordination of first and second line of defense. Qatar tried to run their system against their opponents’ tough challenge. They played patiently with each sequence, passing one ball after the other and posting good defense to set up their counter-attack. They stood their ground and delivered during the definitive moments of the match. With Bahrain reaching set point, but later falling to their errors, Qatar took the third set with 26-24. Qatar’s best performance In the competition’s history came via their fourth place finish in the 2015 edition held in Tehran, Iran. They will look to improve their previous record as the championship enters the next round on Thursday.