Poland’s Fijalek and Bryl win Katara Cup Beach Volleyball Cup

​Doha, March 14, 2020-Poland’s Grzegorz Fijalek and Michal Bryl began the 2020 season in the best way possible by beating Mexican pair Julio Gaxiola and Jose Rubio to win the FIVB -Star Katara Cup Beach Volleyball tournament. Fijalek and Bryl won 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-11) to claim their first World Tour gold as a pair.They needed to hold their nerve after trailing early in the second set. However, a combination of Bryl’s prowess at the net and Fijalek’s swift foot work at the back of the court allowed them to fight back and control the rest of the match. “For us it wasn’t the best game of this tournament, but we are very, very, happy,” Fijalek said. “We started very nervously, but we expected that as they are young boys and have great rhythm and played well this week. But we are very, very happy as it is our first tournament win and I hope we keep our shape in the next tournament.”Fijalek and Bryl teamed up at the start of 2017 and since then they have won four silvers in 2018, and one silver and two bronze in 2019. They are currently fifth in the FIVB Olympic Rankings which means they are well on course for a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Fijalek appeared alongside Mariusz Prudel at London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, but for Bryl it will be his first Olympic appearance. “We didn’t know how the season will turn out,” Bryl said. “We enjoyed this tournament. It is the best feeling in the world to win a tournament.”Gaxiola and Rubio may have missed out on their first World Tour gold, but silver is their first World Tour medal on their first Tour event outside Mexico. “Poland are a very good team and very experienced,” Rubio said. “There is only one winner in a final, but we kept fighting to the end. It has gone well for our first World Tour outside Mexico. We are very pleased with how it all went here in Doha, now we want to carry on in the next tournaments.”The pair won silver at the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball U16 World Championships, but since then they have competed predominantly on the NORCECA Tour in North and Central America, and the Caribbean.They enjoyed a stellar run in Doha. After they made it through pool play and the first two knockout rounds, they defeated reigning world champions Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov of Russia before going on to knock out Brazil’s Bruno Schmidt and Evandro Goncalves who have two World Championships and one Olympic gold between them.Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai won the bronze with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) victory over Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves and Bruno Schmidt.The Italian duo travelled to Doha from a training camp in Fort Lauderdale and had shown some of their best beach volleyball until their defeat to Bryl and Fijalek in the semifinals. Four years ago, Lupo and Nicolai won silver at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games and they have already qualified for Tokyo 2020 via the FIVB World Olympic Qualification Tournament. Their bronze ends a barren run for the pair that stretched back to the 2018 Gstaad 5-Star where they finished third.

QOC makes changes to events calendar to limit spread of coronavirus

Doha, March 14, 2020 –The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) today announced that it has postponed or cancelled a number of its upcoming sports events, in line with the protective measures taken by the State of Qatar to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and in accordance withthe recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health and National Pandemic Preparedness Committee.Where possible, the QOC has attempted to postpone events to a later date and will announce the rescheduled dates in due course. These include: FIBA 3x3 Basketball World Tour, FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series, International Youth U18 Cricket Tournament,2nd Qatar men's ITF World Tennis Tour, 1st Qatar ITF Junior Tennis Tournament, 2nd Qatar ITF Junior Tennis Tournament, QSF Squash Open, Doha Junior Squash Open, Qatar Junior Squash Open and QSF Squash Open.In some instances it has not been possible to postpone events to a later date and as a result the following events have been cancelled: Asia Rugby Sevens Tournament (Men and Women) from March 4-8; West Asia Rugby 15 Tournament (Men) from April 2-5; 1st QatarAsian Tennis Junior Tournament from April 1-6; 2nd Qatar Asian Tennis Junior Tournament from April 13-18; and the 3x3 Basketball GCC Quest Tournament in April.The QOC is committed to protecting the health of all those who take part in its events, activities and programmes and so also announced earlier this week that the sport activities of all age groups across the country will be suspended until further notice.All community activities, the Schools Olympic Programme (SOP) and the Kun Riyadi Programme have also been suspended as part of the national effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Katara Beach Volleyball Cup to conclude on Friday

Doha, March 13, 2020 – Josue Gaxiola and Jose Rubio enjoyed a day of days on Thursday as they eliminated four world champions to reach the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4-Star Katara Beach Volleyball Cup gold medal match.First, they knocked out reigning world champions Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov at the quarterfinal stages with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) win, then they followed up by defeating 2015 world champion Bruno Schmidt and 2017 world champion Evandro Goncalves 2-0 (22-20, 22-20).“It has been amazing to play here in Doha," Rubio said. “This is the first time we have played on the World Tour outside Mexico, so we are very excited about playing here.“We played really well in the first set and while it was a bit nervous in the second, we managed to hold on."The Katara Beach Volleyball Cup is the first time that the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships silver medallists have appeared on the World Tour outside their home country.Rubio and Gaxiola are ranked 96th in the world, 92 places below Bruno and Evandro, but they showed no nerves against their illustrious opponents and after they raced onto a seven-zero lead at the start of the second set they held their nerve to win.“We knew that they are a good team and one of the best teams in the world," Gaxiola said. “This is why we had to play with even more power. That is what drove us and helped us play as well as we did."Bryl and Fijalek came close to gold on the World Tour in 2019 but finished the year with one silver and two bronze.They spent the winter warm-weather training in Tenerife and Sri Lanka but are not getting carried away with their success.“It is another game and another day tomorrow and we are only focusing on our side," Fijalek said. “We have to keep our shape and our level tomorrow.“We played them last year in Chetumal, but they are young and have beaten some very good teams so I think it will be a very interesting game tomorrow."The men-only tournament is running from March 9-13 at Katara Cultural Village in the north of the city. It is the second of nine 4-Star events on the 2019-2020 calendar and the winners will leave with 800 ranking points.Qatar has built up a strong tradition of hosting World Tour events since it hosted its first in 2014. Two more followed in 2015 and 2016, then in 2018 the tournament grew from a 3-Star tournament to a 4-Star tournament.

Qatar's Tijan and Younousse lose in Katara Beach Volleyball Cup

​Doha, March 12, 2020- Qatar's Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse suffered a 0-2 defeat against Italy's Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai at the knockout round of the 4-Star Katara Beach Volleyball Open on Wednesday.On the other hand, Michal Bryl and Grzegorz Fijalek had to push themselves to the limit to reach the quarter-finals yesterday with a come from behind win over Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins.Joining them in the quarter-finals are Taylor Crabb and Jacob Gibb who are one of two USA teams, along with Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser, to progress.The men-only tournament in Doha is running from March 9-13 at Katara Cultural Village in the north of the city. It is the second of nine 4-Star events on the 2019-2020 calendar and the winners will leave with 800 ranking points.Qatar has built up a strong tradition of hosting World Tour events since it hosted its first in 2014. Two more followed in 2015 and 2016, then in 2018 the tournament grew from a 3-Star tournament to a 4-Star tournament.

Abdulaziz Mohammed qualifies to World Athletics U20 Championships

Doha, March 12, 2020-Qatar's Abdulaziz Mohamed qualified to the 2020 edition of World Athletics U20 Championships to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in July.Abdulaziz secured his spot in the world championships after claiming a time of 20.66 seconds in 200m event during ACNW League in South Africa.Earlier, Qatar's Owaab Barrow and Ammar Obaid Abdulmajeed also qualified to the 2020 edition of World Athletics U20 Championships.

Qatar sport activities to be held behind closed doors

DOHA, March 12, 2020-The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC ) has announced that local sports events will go ahead as scheduled but without the presence of fans. QOC has also suspended all youth sports activities in line with the closure of schools and universities in Qatar.The QOC's decision is in line with the protective measures taken by the State to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and follows the recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health and National Pandemic Preparedness Committee to avoid public gatherings.The QOC is committed to ensuring the wellbeing of its athletes and fans and will continue to follow expert guidance provided by the relevant national authorities.