Mutaz Essa Barshim wins AS Arab Athlete of the Year award

DOHA, December 05, 2019 - Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim won the 2019 Arab Athlete of the Year, presented by the Spanish newspaper AS, after winning the high jump gold at the World Athletics Championships in Doha recently.The award distribution ceremony was held in the Spanish capital of Madrid, attended by prominent sport stars and figures from across the world.Barshim, an Aspire Academy product, won two Olympic medals - a bronze in London 2012 and silver in Rio 2016. He is a two-time world champion, after winning the high jump gold medal in London 2017.In Doha 2019, the Qatari champion captured the gold medal after clearing 2.37m before watching his rivals fail to match his effort.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia renew rivalry after 2019 AFC Asian Cup

DOHA, December 5, 2019 - Asian champions take on Saudi Arabia in what promises to be a cracker of a semifinal at the 24th Arab Gulf Cup here at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday.The hosts has finished second in Group A while their opponents topped Group B.The Saudis haven't won the regional competition after 2003 while Qatar were champions in 2014 in Riyadh.Both the sides will renew their rivalry after their face-off in group phase of 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January, with Qatar winning 2-0.Interestingly, both Qatar and Saudi Arabia shook off their opening matches, which they lost, to bounce back into the competition strongly.The semifinal is expected to be a sellout one, and Qatar will enjoy the support of their fans.But Qatar coach Felix Sanchez opined that though playing in front of their fans is a plus, they won't underestimate the Saudis.“It's always nice to play under pressure in front of your fans," said the Spaniard. “We are playing against a strong team and everyone knows their quality. We've the confidence in our players, and ready to do well."The stupendous form of Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif will certainly boost the hosts. Against the UAE, the Villareal striker, who is playing on loan at Al Sadd, showed a lot of firepower.Besides, Karim Boudiaf's excellent workload in the midfield has helped Qatar overrun their opponents at the group phase.The lanky Al Duhail midfielder has been one of the best players in this tournament, in terms of his work rate and deliverance.It will be interesting to see how Felix uses him against the rejuvenated Saudis, who have only improved after their shock 3-1 defeat against Kuwait in their first group match on November 27.With the return of their Al Hilal players in the side, Saudi Arabia brooked no challenge and their convincing back-to-back wins revived their title chances.Winger Salem Mohammed Al Dosari, who operates on the left, will be the man to watch out for, and Qatar right-back Pedro Miguel will have to really work hard to stop his scorching runs.The 28-year-old Al Hilal winger, who has a great understanding with Nawaf Shaker Al Abid, orchestrate most of their team's forays.“I think in all the group games were different. We were upset after the first match, but the players showed good level. They tried their best after the defeat against Iraq," added Felix.On the secret of his team's success since winning the Asian Cup, the former Aspire Academy youth coach said, “There's no secret to success. The players are working very hard. They're top professionals who want to excel as footballers."

SOP Organizing Committee Chairman lauds students impressive performance

DOHA, December 4 , 2019 – HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al Thani, the Chairman of Organizing Committee of the 13th edition of the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) has lauded and highly appreciated the outstanding performance of students from different schools in the SOP competitions so far.In a press release on Tuesday, Sheikh Khalifa said the competitions are going regularly and impressively and will help us redoubling effort to discover more talented students.He also voiced that the Schools Olympic Program is among the most significant projects backing school sport in the country . Added that the committee is keen to ensure further success for SOP to take Qatar sport movement to greater levels.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.

Countdown begins for third edition of QOC’s Team Qatar Flag Relay

DOHA, Dec 4, 2019 – The countdown for the third edition of Team Qatar's Flag Relay, to be held on December 13, began on Tuesday. The event, organised by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), is being held as part of this year’s Qatar National Day (QND) celebration.The 2019 Team Qatar Flag Relay will commence early in the morning of the day from the QOC Headquarters and it will pass through the Corniche, Qatar Foundation, Katara Village and the Hamad International Airport where the flag will then be handed over to a pilot heading to Tokyo where team Qatar is due to participate in the next Summer Olympic Games- Tokyo 2020.The icon event, which will be accompanied by a number of sport events, will bring together elite athletes, schoolchildren, members from different communities and the general public who will have the opportunity to carry the Qatari flag during the relay.A number of Qatari ace athletes including World Champion Mutaz Barsham and Abdulrahman Samba have been named by the QOC as the Flag Relay Ambassadors and participants will have the opportunity of interacting with them at close quarters during the event.Registration for the event, which aims to attract over 5,000 people from different segments of the society, is already open and interested participants can register via QOC’s social media platforms @Qatar_olympic.The 2019 Team Qatar's Flag relay rounds up a year of major sporting achievements for Qatar. Among the many feats recorded this year were the crowning of the national football team as the Champions of Asia at the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, Mutaz Barshim emerging as the new World Champion in men’s high jump and Abdurrahman Samba claiming the men’s 400m hurdles bronze at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. Besides these, a number of Qatari athletes, including Barshim, Samba, Abubaker Hayder, Qatar high jumping team and shooter Mohammed Al Rumaihi, secured qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.The second edition of the Team Qatar Flag Relay, which took place last year, , including athletes and retired athletes and school students. The flag toured more than 300 kilometers across Qatar and it involved a number of sport activities including bicycles, running, swimming and others.

Tareq Zainal elected as member in Asian Tennis Federation Board

BANGALORE, India, December 03, 2019 – Qatar's Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) Secretary General, Mr. Tareq Zainal has been elected as member to the Board of Directors for the Asian Tennis Federation during the Annual General Assembly meeting held earlier in Bangalore, India on Monday.Mr. Zail won the membership of the continental federation board after obtaining 39 votes.In a post-election release on Monday , Mr. Zainl pointed out that his election has proved the significant confidence that Qatar enjoy in both international and continental sport arenas.

Qatar’s Al Obaidli wins gold in Snooker 6 Red

DOHA, December 3, 2019 - Qatar's Ali al Obaidli clinched the gold in GCC Men's Snooker 6 Red after beating Bahrain's Habib Subah in a best of 11 frames at Levatio Hotel, Muscat on Sunday.In GCC Men's 8 Ball Team 2019 held from November 30 to December 1, Kuwait won the gold, Qatar claimed silver and United Arab Emirates and Bahrain took the bronze medals. After winning the event Al Obaidli said, “Everything was okay but just to finish the match was difficult. There was a lot of pressure and every shot counts. It was not my best but I am grateful that at the end I got it."As for the tournament experience he said, “It is my first time in Oman and I love it! Everything is well organised and I would like to express my gratitude to the Oman Billiard and Snooker Committee." The total duration of the Snooker 6 Red final match was three hours and Al Obaidli beat Subah with a score of 6 frames to 4 (6-4). In this match however, Subah made the maximum in 6 Red – 75 points. That makes him the only player to have hit 75 points in this championship so far. Al Obaidli, meanwhile is the only player who is unbeaten in the tournament and won the gold medal and the championship of 6 Red event.Habib Subah, a regular at GCC Championship tournaments and the defending champion of 6 Red, said Ali al Obaidli is a very talented player. They have played against each other many times taking turns to win. The audience sat spellbound to witness the players bring out their best techniques as both players had equal chances to win. Just before the match, Subah said playing the 6 Red was similar to the 15 Reds.“Whatever the game the important factors are to be a good potter, break the builder and a good safety player," said Subah. By being a safety player he explained that one does not leave an easy starter for the opponent to score first."The 6 Red is considered tougher because there is less chance for recovery and at times never a chance to recover explained Shoaib Khan, Tournament Director. Referee Mohammed Motaz from Oman supervised the match.Habib Subah took the lead in the first frame but the following four frames were dominated by Ali al Obaidli. The fifth frame had the players take turn to pot the pink ball until Ali successfully took it. With determination Subah came back in the sixth frame. The 2 hour 30 minute long match ended in Al Obaidli's favour 5-3.GCC Men's 8 Ball Team 2019 in Billiards saw Kuwait take the lead ranked first, Qatar (2nd), United Arab Emirates (3rd), Bahrain (4th), Saudi Arabia (5th) and Oman (6th).For the first time in the tournament the under 21 players began their event. “The 'Under 21' 6 Red Snooker has junior participants from Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Oman has two players Basam al Mashani and Fahd al Maqbali, Khalil Bo Saif from Bahrain and Ayman al Omari from Saudi Arabia," said Shohaib Khan.