Defending champion Wang off to confident start at ITTF Qatar Open

DOHA: Defending women's singles champion Wang Manyu got off to a confident start by defeating compatriot Sun Mingyang 4-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5) in the Round of 32 at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open on ThursdayWang, seeded fourth, enjoyed a relatively trouble free start to her title defence.Former champion Ding Ning and Wang Yidi found their form in some style as they both coasted to wins over Monaco's Yang Xiaoxin and fellow Chinese athlete Zhang Rui respectively.Ding beat Yang in straight games, displaying her Olympian form and clear intention to settle for nothing less than gold (11-8, 1-8, 12-10, 11-6).For Wang, it was a good challenge to affirm as she won 4-1 (11-8, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12) against Zhang.Sun Yingsha also picked up a victory in the 2.50pm session, seeing off Miyuu Kihara (13-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7).Persson beats Qatar's Al MohannadiIn the men's competition, Sweden's Jon Persson defeated Qatar's Ahmad Khalil Al Mohannadi 4-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 11-2) in 15 minutes.Brazil's Hugo Calderano had a very good showing as he overpowered India's Amalraj Anthony in straight games win (12-10, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6), in under 26 minutes.Emmanuel Lebesson from France, however, could not handle the speed of Japan's Koki Niwa, as the world No.12 won 4-1 (11-8, 14-12, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6) to qualify for pre-quarters.​

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2020 begins

Doha, March 6, 2020-Danish teenager Nicolai Hojgaard produced nine birdies, including six in a row, for a seven-under-par 64 in the opening round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Education City Golf Club course on Thursday.The 18-year-old, whose identical twin Rasmus is also competing in Doha, had two birdies and a bogies in the front nine before picking up pace in scintillating fashion."I did not expect a such a low score," said Hojgaard after his brilliant show.Anything below par is a good score in these windy conditions and I am happy with this. I don't remember making a seven-under-par score in the opening round before."Dutchman Joost Luiten was second on 65 while Italian Lorenzo Gagli, Belgian Thomas Pieters, Spaniards Jorge Campillo and Carlos Pigem and Englishmen Andy Sullivan and Dane Jeff Winther were a shot further behind.Meanwhile, it was a disappointing start for Qatar's Saleh Al Kaabi and Ali Al Shehrani.Al Kaabi was 139th on the board with and 8 over 79 while Al Shahrani was in 140th position with an 80.It was an even more disappointing day for Eddie Pepperell, the 2018 Qatar Masters champion, who was disqualified after he was deemed to have signed for an incorrect scorecard.​

Longines Global Champions Tour gets under way

Doha, March 6, 2020- With attendance of HE QOC President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha got under way here at the Al Shaqab on Thursday.Fifty riders from 15 different nations have entered in these top-level competitions, bringing their leading horses to compete under the lights in the Qatari capital.The riders will be pulling out all the stops and selecting their best horses to get those early ranking points and aim to secure their golden tickets to the LGCT Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Playoffs in November.The opening day of the three-day event (March 5-7) sees a warm-up class for the combinations to get a feel for the stunning Longines Arena, allowing the horses to acclimatise to their surroundings before the competition kicks off on Thursday with the first round of the GCL team competition.Nine out of the top ten riders from the 2019 LGCT overall ranking at the New York Finals are competing this weekend, and in the incredible facilities of Al Shaqab, it's set to be a spectacle of world-class show jumping across all three days.Many of the riders have brought their top horses to Qatar for this opening leg, hoping to start the season with a bang.Belgian brothers Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) and Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) have brought some top talent, with Nicola riding H&M Chilli Willi and Katanga v.H Dingeshof, who jumped consistently well in last week's CHI competition at Al Shaqab, placing 5th in the Grand Prix. Olivier, meanwhile, rides his super stallion H&M Extra.Olympian Scott Brash (GBR) brings Hello Senator and Hello Shelby to compete in this year's opening leg.Hello Senator competed at LGCT Doha in 2019, so he is well equipped to deal with the expansive arena and electric atmosphere and will be one to watch this weekend.Meanwhile, last year's two-time LGCT Grand Prix winner Maikel van der Vleuten (NEL) brings two talented horses to Doha, Arera C and Beauville Z, the latter of who is a previous LGCT Grand Prix winner.Shane Breen (IRE) brings Z7 Ipswich this year. Ipswich gave Shane his first LGCT Grand Prix win at LGCT Monaco in 2018, and has been on flying form during the winter, making this an exciting partnership to watch this season.​

Team Qatar to participate in Katara Beach Volleyball Cup

Doha, March 5, 2020- The Qatari beach volleyball team will participate in the 2020 edition of Katara Beach Volleyball Cup to be organized by the Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) in cooperation with Katara.The event will be held from March 9-12 with participation of 64 from 28 countries including Qatar, Oman, Turkey, USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Austria, the Netherlands, England, Gambia, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, Latvia, Slovenia, Hong Kong, France, Estonia, Chile and Iran.Qatar's squad: Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan, Saif/Zeyad and Mahmoud/Mahdi. ​

Stage set for opening leg of LGCT 2020 season

DOHA, MARCH 5, 2020 - The stage is set at Al Shaqab as the Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha gets under way tomorrow. 50 riders from 15 different nations are entered in these top-level competitions, bringing their leading horses to compete under the lights in the Qatari capital. The riders will be pulling out all the stops and selecting their best horses to get those early ranking points and aim to secure their golden tickets to the LGCT Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Playoffs in November. Today sees a warm-up class for the combinations to get a feel for the stunning Longines Arena, allowing the horses to acclimatise to their surroundings before the competition kicks off tomorrow (Thursday) with the first round of the GCL team competition. Nine out of the top ten riders from the 2019 LGCT overall ranking at the New York Finals are competing this weekend, and in the incredible facilities of Al Shaqab, it's set to be a spectacle of world-class show jumping across all three days. Many of the riders have brought their top horses to Qatar for this opening leg, hoping to start the season with a bang. Belgian brothers Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) and Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) have brought some top talent, with Nicola riding H&M Chilli Willi and Katanga v. H Dingeshof, who jumped consistently well in last week's CHI competition at Al Shaqab, placing 5th in the Grand Prix. Olivier, meanwhile, rides his super stallion H&M Extra.Olympian Scott Brash (GBR) brings Hello Senator and Hello Shelby to compete in this year's opening leg. Hello Senator competed at LGCT Doha in 2019, so he is well equipped to deal with the expansive arena and electric atmosphere and will be one to watch this weekend. Meanwhile, last year's two-time LGCT Grand Prix winner Maikel van der Vleuten (NEL) brings two talented horses to Doha, Arera C and Beauville Z, the latter of who is a previous LGCT Grand Prix winner. Shane Breen (IRE) brings Z7 Ipswich to Doha this year. Ipswich gave Shane his first LGCT Grand Prix win at LGCT Monaco in 2018, and has been on flying form during the winter, making this an exciting partnership to watch this season. Other exciting horses to watch are Marcus Ehning (GER) with his popular chestnut stallion Funky Fred, Evelina Tovek (SWE) with Dalila de la Pomme, and Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) with Best Boy 2 and Castello 194. All riders and teams will be starting on a clean sheet as the 2020 Championship race gets under way, and it's all to play for at this early stage to get a head start on the LGCT rankings and on qualification for the LGCT Super Grand Prix. Watch all these top riders and horses in action live on GCTV from tomorrow, Thursday 5 March until Saturday 7 March - tune in from 15:00 local time tomorrow. ​

Best Golfers ready for Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

DOHA, MARCH 5, 2020 – Stage all set for the 23th Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2020 which will be getting under way at Education City Golf Club on Thursday.​Former European Number One Martin Kaymer has 11 European Tour wins - including two Major Championships - but the last of those victories came nearly six years ago at the 2014 U.S. Open Championship.The German said recently that he felt he had maybe been lacking focus for the last couple of years but after changing his trajectory to gain some length off the tee and working hard on his short game, he has started his 2020 campaign with four consecutive top 20s.And the 35-year-old feels he is not far from ending his win drought at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, starting this week at Education City Golf Club."I've been playing well," he said. "I'm working a lot on the short game, trying to get that putter in the right momentum."I'm very happy with the way I hit fairways, the way I hit greens, I'm playing very consistently and those top 16 finishes, it would be nice to make a couple more putts to actually have a chance to win."This week's event has made the move from its long time home at Doha Golf Club and while Kaymer knows he will have to adjust to the new venue, the winds on the Arabian peninsula will be a familiar foe."We had it already last week in Oman when it was really windy," he said. "Here it feels like it is more gusty so that will be very difficult. "You will have some shots where you will get unlucky, it's just a matter of accepting the good and the bad breaks and just go with it - there's not much you can do."It's always different. In a tournament it really matters, to really understand and get to know the golf course in tournament mode - the way you play different holes, you're going to play a bit more aggressive here and there."I look forward to playing a different golf course here." Kaymer's Miracle of Medinah team-mate Nicolas Colsaerts ended his seven year winless run in the autumn at the Amundi Open de France and after a top 20 in Oman last week, he too is feeling confident in the desert."Everything kind of falls into place," he said. "I think I've been playing well since my first round of the year."If you look at the results you always want to get a bit more out of your weeks, I probably wasn't really efficient enough on the greens."I thought I had a good chance last week, I had a putt on 13 on Sunday that would have got me two shots off the lead and I was feeling pretty good. I went for the win for a long time and thought I had a pretty good sniff so I'm pretty happy about everything."