Epaillards’s dominant run at CHI AI Shaqab continues

Doha, February 29, 2020 – His Excellency , Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has attended the competitions of the prestigious Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab presented by longines on Friday.In Friday's competitions, Julien Epaillard's winning juggernaut continued at the Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines, with the Frenchman clinching the feature class on the second day of the championship.Epaillard, who had won both the showjumping events on the opening day, did not put a foot wrong yesterday at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab as he combined with 11-year-old stallion Virtuose Champeix to claim the CSI5* 1.55m class.The 41-year-old had also won the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix Doha title last year, and there seems to be no stopping him at Al Shaqab. Going by his current form, Epaillard will now be a heavy favourite for today's Grand Prix 1.60m — the big money event of the championship.“Yes, it was an amazing show. My horse is in top form," gushed Epaillard after another terrific win, “I did not have the best control in the jump-off. But I am very happy. I wish I could get the Grand Prix trophy tomorrow. I would like that. My horse is only 10 years old. Not so much experience for the moment. But we will try and do the best tomorrow," he added.Twelve riders made it to the jump-off in the speed class and it looked like Scott Brash would walk away with the victory, after the British rider completed the round in 34.11 seconds with Hello Shelby.But Epaillard, who was second but last rider at the start, beat Brash's time hands down, coming home in 33.41 seconds aboard Virtuose Champeix. Austria's Max Kuhner gave some anxious moments to Epaillard, when he scorched the course with Elektric Blue P but had to settle for second spot after timing 33.81 secs. Brash took the last podium spot with Hello Shelby – the pair having finished second on Thursday.Spain's Eduardo Alvarez Aznar and Sweden's Henrik von Eckermann, shared the fourth place aboard Seringat and Best Boy Z respectively, after timing an identical 34.84. Earlier, in the 1.50m CSI5* class, Switzerland's Jane Richard Philips eased to victory aboard her 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood-mare, Kenia Van 'T Laerhof. The pair stopped the clock in 59.72 seconds. France's Roger Yves Bost with Castleforbes Talitha came second, while Filippo Marco Bologni of Italy finished third with Diplomat.Meanwhile, Sweden's Patrik Kittel rode Delaunay Old to victory in the Dressage CDI5* Grand Prix. Kittel and the 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding scored 74.413 percent. The pair was on Sweden's team at the 2017 European Championships and competed in last year's World Cup Final.Morgan Barbancon and Sir Donnerhall II OLD, France's leading combination, were second on 72.326 percent. The duo that competed at the Europeans last September may also have earned a start at the Las Vegas World Cup Final that would be their third straight annual championship.Germany's Matthias Alexander Rath and 12-year-old stallion Foundation posted a personal best 72.034 percent for third place.

Varga wins trap gold in Qatar Open Shotgun Championships

​Doha, February 28, 2020- Erik Varga of Slovakia and Fatima Galvez Marin of Spain won the men's and women's trap titles at the Qatar Open Shotgun Championship yesterday.At the Losail Shooting Range, the 43-year-old, who has represented Slovakia at three Olympic Games, and has three World Champions under his belt besides two second-place finish at the World Championships, overcame the challenge of Matthew Coward-Holley of Great Britain and David Kostelecky of Czech Republic to lay his hands on the top prize of $7,000.Three-time World Champion Varga Varga won the gold medal shoot-out with Coward-Holley 43-42 leaving Kostelecky and Aaron Heading of Great Britain to fight for the third place, with the Czech shooter winning 33-28. Coward-Holley received a cheque of $6,000 and the bronze medal winner got $5,000.Kostelecky, an Olympic champion at the 2008 Summer Games, is a veteran of five Olympics having made his debut at the multi discipline sporting event in 1996 and so far he has missed out only on the 2004 Games. The individual men's event was held over two days with three rounds taking place on Wednesday and two rounds took place yesterday, with six top shooters making it to the final rounds.Earlier, overnight leader Jacopo Cipriani of Italy could not maintain his consistent run in the final round after finishing on top in the qualifying rounds. Both Cipriani and Qatar's Mohamed al-Rumaihi finished with an identical score of 118 but on a windy and dusty day they flattered in the final rounds.Meanwhile in the women's individual trap event, Fatima Galvez Marin of Spain, Alessandra Perilli of San Marino and Giulia Grassia of Italy finished on the podium.Galvez Marin, who finished on top in the qualifying rounds, maintained her top form in testing conditions to take the gold medal and the cash prize of $7,000.The second place finisher pocketed $6,000 and the bronze medal winner got $5,000.The championship ends today with the Mixed Trap team final.

Kuznetsova up against Sabalenka in Qatar Total Open semifinals

​Doha, February 28, 2020-The 2009 French Open and 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will go up against tournament's No.9 seed Aryna Sabalenka for only the third time in their career in today's semi-finals.Of the two previous occasions the duo has met - the 2019 Madrid Masters and the 2018 Indian Wells Masters - the results were evenly split between them with the 34-year-old Kuznetsova avenging her Indian Wells defeat against Sabalenka, 21, in Madrid. Interestingly, both matches were in the Round of 64 of the respective tournaments and they both posted straight sets victories.In the build up to today's clash, Kuznetsova overcame Turkey's Çağla Büyükakçay, a wildcard entrant, 6-2,6-2 in her opening match before dispatching Polish Iga Swiatek in the second round. Her pre-quarters clash with USA's Amanda Anisimova was, however, retired due to the latter's illness.Sabalenka on the other hand defeated Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, Greece's Maria Sakkari and China's Saisai Zheng respectively to enter the semis.In the other clash, Czech Petra Kvitova will square up against World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, who is making her debut at the tournament. Of the eight matches between the pair, the wins have been evenly divided.Barty defeated Laura Siegemund in the Round of 32 while her pre-quarters match against Kazak's Elena Rybakina was retired before defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the quarters.Kvitova, who got a first round byes like the rest top-eight seeds, defeated 2016 winner Carla Suárez Navarro in the round of 32 followed by Jelena Ostapenko and Ons Jabeur.Doubles finalThe duo of Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski, the 2018 doubles champions, will have another shot at claiming the trophy for the second time as they go up against the Chinese Taipei and Czech Republic's pair of Su-Wei Hseih and Barbora Strycova in tomorrow's final.While Ostapenko and Dabrowski defeated Hungary's Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-4,1-6,10-7 in their semis encounter, Hseih and Strycova knocked off Czech's Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 in the other match.

Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab begins

DOHA, February 28, 2020-French rider Julien Epaillard yesterday returned to his favourite hunting ground with a bang. The 42-year-old French show jumping star did well to lay down the marker for the rest week by notching two wins on day one of the Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab.The first day was attended by HE President of the Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani.Epaillard, astride 11-year-old Virtuose Champeix, clinched the battle in the 1.55m class, edging Great Britain's Scott Brash to the top spot with a flawless routine.Earlier in the day, he guided Alibi de la Roque to the top spot in the two-phased 1.45m class held on the outdoor venue of Longines Arena at Al Shaqab.Last year at the same venue, Epaillard won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix with Usual Suspect d'Auge.“I'm very happy with both wins today. It was a very fast race (1.55m), but the horse performed fantastic. I have no complaints. It's always a pleasure to come back to the Al Shaqab Arena and win here," Epaillard said after winning the feature event with Virtuose Champeix in a time of 64.09 seconds.The Frenchman, who trained since childhood at his parents' equestrian center in Normandy, yesterday got richer by €23,725.Second-placed Brash, astride 11-year-old gelding Hello Shelby, was a tad slower (64.25 seconds).Brash, who won a gold medal with the British squad in the team event at the London Olympics in 2012, yesterday picked up €18,980 for his second spot.“Even though I finished second, I'm not disappointed. It was a good round and I'm looking forward to the next few events," Brash, winner of the 2017 CHI Al Shaqab title, said after the prize distribution ceremony.Dana Blue, who had Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten in the saddle, finished in third spot. Dana Blue clocked 65.87 seconds as Van Der Vlueten won €14,235.French rider Kevin Staut (Visconti du Telman, 66.08 seconds, €9,490) and Sweden's Henrik von Eckermann (Fancy Me, 66.48 seconds, €6,643) completed the top five out of 44 entries.Earlier in the evening, Epailard was in the saddle to guide Alibi de la Roque to the top spot in the two-phased 1.45m class.Alibi de la Roque, 10 years old, clocked a time 25.10 seconds as Epaillard won the top prize of €6,350.Dutch rider Van der Vlueten, astride 11-year-old Edinburg, secured the second spot in a time of 26.18 seconds.Van der Vlueten got richer by €5,080.Italy's Emanuele Gaudiano finished third with 10-year-old Kingston van het Eikenhof. Gaudiano picked up €3,180 as Kingston van het Eikenhof clocked 26.27 seconds.Belgium's Jerome Guery (Eras Ste Hermelle, 26.35 seconds, €2,540) and compatriot Jos Verlooy (Fabregas, 27.12 seconds, 1,778) completed the top five.The day's proceedings kicked off with the para-dressage competition at the Indoor Arena.Norway's seasoned rider Jens Lasse Dokkan topped the first competition (Grade 1) with Aladdin. The 58-year-old Norwegian managed a tally of 73.988 points.Austria's Pepo Puch (astride Fuerst Chili, 74.293 points), Dutchman Rixt van der Horst (Findsley NOP, 72.500), Brazil's Rodolpho Riskalla (Don Frederic, 74.500) and Belgium's Ciska Vermeulen (Rohmeo, 72.132) clinched top spots in Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV and Grade V respectively.Meanwhile, Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee, Khalifa Al Attiyah welcomed the top riders to Longines Arena at Al Shaqab.“The Longines Arena at Al Shaqab has come alive as top riders from around the world are competing at Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines, in the 7th edition of this premier international competition," Al Attiyah said.He added: “Riders and their horses, equestrian enthusiasts, and guests will enjoy the thrills and excitement of outstanding competition during Al Shaqab's signature event, one of only five CHI competitions worldwide and the first and only equestrian event of its kind in the Middle East and Asia region."“Members of the Supreme Organising Committee have been working hard and putting in their utmost effort to ensure the successful execution of the event. To them, I wish to say a big 'Thank You" for a job well done. I would also like to thank our sponsors, Commercial Bank, Longines, and ExxonMobil for their valuable contribution towards making CHI Al Shaqab a success," Al Attiyah said in a statement.Omar Al Mannai, Event Director and member of the Supreme Organizing Committee, said: “Al Shaqab has achieved its goal of developing an equestrian competition that other organisers aspire to and talk about. It underscores Qatar's ability to organize major sports events. This year is the first time we have Commercial Bank as the event's title sponsor and we are honoured to have them on board."Al Mannai added: “We are also very proud of our association with Longines, who are the Presenting Partner. Our long-term relationship with Longines is further cemented by the Al Shaqab Arena being renamed as “Longines Arena". And, of course, once again we have ExxonMobil on board as Main Sponsor, and we greatly appreciate the support they have shown to Al Shaqab over the years."

Victorious schools reach SOP volleyball Final

​DOHA, February 27 , 2020 – The volleyball's last four stage has seen impressive performance from boys schools who sparkled on Wednesday at the prestigious 13th edition of Schools Olympic Program (SOP) 2020.At the preparatory school level, Hamza Ibn Abdulmotaleb and Abdulla Ibn Ali Al Mosnad schools confidently booked their spots in the final, following deserving victories against Philippines and Modern Indian schools.At the secondary schools level, Omar bin Khattab defeated Al Khor International 2-0 and Ahmed Ibn Hanbal outclassed Iranian counterparts 2-1 to reach the final stage.The SOP is held annually as a collaborative effort of to encourage hundreds of students athletes competing from all over Qatar.The SOP Committee aims to spread a culture of sports through Qatar's schools and to engage the entire community in active and healthy lifestyles while retaining local values and traditions.

HH the Amir Attends Part of Qatar Total Open

Doha, February 27, 2020- (QNA) - HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended yesterday part of Qatar Total women's tennis open 2020, in its 18th edition, currently being held at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.HH the Amir attended a match between Tunisian 44-seed Ons Jabeur and Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova. The Tunisian player won with 2 : 1 (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) to qualify for the quarter-finals.HH the Amir watched another match between Swiss fourth seed Belinda Bencic and Yulia Potentseva of Kazakhstan. The Swiss player won with 2 : 0 (6-4) (6-3) to advance to the quarter-finals.The two matches were attended by a number of Their Excellencies Sheikhs, guests and tennis fans. (QNA)