Qatar, Saudi Arabia play out goalless draw in AFC U23 Championship

Bangkok, January 13, 2020-Qatar drew with Saudi Arabia 0-0 in Group B of the AFC U23 Championship on Sunday to leave both sides firmly in contention to reach the competition's quarterfinals.With one game each still to play, the result sees Qatar – in the wake of their draw with Syria – increase their tally to two points while Saudi Arabia are on four points following their impressive defeat of Japan on Matchday One.Qatar complete their group stage fixtures on Wednesday when they face Japan while Saudi Arabia will tackle Syria.On a warm and humid evening in the Thai capital, the game was off to a cautious start at the Thammasat Stadium, but there were tackles aplenty as both sides refused to give an inch, an approach that resulted in a tight and tense affair that was dominated by pockets of action in midfield.The game finally burst into life on 39 minutes when Abdulrahman Ghareeb's ferocious drive from 18 yards was superbly blocked by Qatar defender Mohamed Ayash.By way of contrast to what had gone before, the second half began brightly with first Saudi Arabia's Khalid Dubaysh unleashing a shot that fizzed narrowly wide of the target and then Al Hamdan having a close-range header repelled by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Yami.In the 67th minute, Abdullah Al Ahrak flashed a shot across the face of the Saudi goal.With defences dominating, neither side was able to fashion a further opportunity.

SOP Volleyball and Basketball competitions continue in style

Doha, January 12, 2020– The volleyball and basketball competitions at the 13th edition of the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) were resumed on Saturday. The volleyball competitions for boys' secondary schools were held at Qatar Volleyball Association Arena where Stafford Sri Lanka defeated Addison International School 2-0 while Iranian School edged past Al Furqan School 2-0.Philippines School overpowered Nobel School 2-0 while Al Khor International School beat Al Andalus School.In the basketball competitions for girls' primary school held at Qatar Women's Sport Committee Arena, Amnah Mahmoud Al Jaidah School defeated Maryam bint Emran School 12-0 while Al Shaqab School edged past Al Huda School 2-0.The SOP Committee aims to promote 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.

Thawab Al-Subaey sparkles in Winter Youth Olympics

Lausanne, January 12, 2020- Qatar's Thawab Al-Subaey participated in Boys' 3x3 Mixed Ice Hockey Tournament at the third Winter Youth Olympics – Lausanne 2020 which began on Thursday. The event brings together 1800 athletes from 76 National Olympic Committees.In the first Qatari appearance in Winter Youth Olympics, Thawab Al-Subaey played two games where his team (grey team) defeated the blue team 9-8 and yellow team 11-8.

Sheikh Joaan crowns Rublev winner of Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020

Doha, January 12, 2020 - HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani on Saturday crowned Andrey Rublev, winner of Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020 tennis tournament.Rublev claimed the title after defeating Corentin Moutet 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in the one-hour-27-minutes final match held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.Rublev did not drop a single set throughout the tournament and after taking a 6-1 lead in the second-set tie-break against Moutet he did not look like missing out on the trophy.Moutet beat Milos Raonic in the second round and on Friday overcame Fernando Verdasco and top seed Stan Wawrinka in three sets to reach his first final at this level. However, getting the better of Rublev - the runner-up in 2018 - proved too much of a challenge, with the promising 22-year-old kicking off his season by claiming a third ATP Tour title of his career that will send him into the top 20 for the first time."It's amazing. For the moment I have no words. I'm always really happy to play here and to win a title here is something special for me. It's an amazing start to the season and I can hope to continue the same level," Rublev said in his on-court interview. (QNA)

Moutet stuns Wawrinka to book final with Rublev

Doha, January 11, 2020-After five days of exhilarating tennis actions on the courts of the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, the finalists have emerged at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020 with second-seed Andrey Rublev of Russia meeting 20-year-old tournament debutant Corentin Moutet, who staged a surprising semi-final 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 upset of top-seed Stan Wawrinka, in Saturday's final.With rain washing out three of the scheduled quarter-final matches on Thursday, tennis fans were treated to a double dose of actions on Friday with both the remaining last-eight matches and the subsequent semis staged on the same day.Hours after defeating Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-3 in the quarters, Rublev was back on the court against to face Serbia's Miomir Kecmanović, the only semi-finalist to qualify on Thursday. The extra "hours" of rest for the 20-year-old Serbian, however, counted for nothing as the Russian got a straight set 6-3, 6-1 victory in just 53 minutes to secure his place in the final.For 81-ranked Moutet, who had to go through the qualifying rounds, beating 2008 finalist Wawrinka was an unbelievable dream come true.“This is one of the best nights of my career and I'm absolutely delighted to have pulled this through. To win against a player like Wawrinka is something great and I'm happy to reach the final. I'll be up against another strong player (Rublev) tomorrow and I hope it ends in my favour," said Moutet who turned pro in 2016 and is waiting for his first title.Meanwhile, Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and India's Rohan Bopanna clinched the men's doubles final title after staging a come-from-behind win over the unseeded duo of Luke Bambridge and Santiago Gonzalez in Doha on Friday.Third seeds Koolhof and Bopanna defeated the British-Mexican pair 3-6, 6-2, 10-6 in the summit clash to win the first doubles title of the season and picked up 250 ATP points along with the $76,870 prize money.The Indo-Dutch combination had earlier reached the final after beating second seeds Henri Kontinen and Franco Skugor 7-5, 6-2.

Kecmanovic book semi-final ticket

Doha, January 10, 2020-Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic emerged the first semi-finalist at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020 after dispatching Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-2, 6-0 in the only match of the day that was completed before drizzling rain led to the cancellation of all the other games on Thursday.The 20-year-old Serbian, who won 73 percent of his first serve on his way to victory, needed just 55 minutes to knock Fucsovics, who defeated eight-seed Frances Tiafoe in the first round, out of the tournament. “I'm happy with the progress I've made at this tournament and I look forward to the semi-final. It was a good match and I played against a good opponent. I hope to maintain the momentum and let's see what happens in the end," Kecmanovic , a former junior world No. 1 said.Talking about his potential semi-final clash with second-seed Andrey Rublev, Kecmanovic said, “I played him a long time ago in the juniors but I haven't played him since then. Yeah, it would definitely be an exciting match but, you know, he still has to win today or probably tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to coming out again and to play my best game."Meanwhile, all the remaining games of the day have been rescheduled to Friday with singles quarter-finals matches starting by 12:30pm alongside the doubles semi-finals while the singles semis will be played later in the day.