Team Qatar win skeet gold at Asian Shooting Championship

Doha, November 11, 2019-Qatar's shooting team claimed the gold medal of men's skeet team event at the 14th Asian Shooting Championship being held at Losail International Shooting Complex under the patronage of HE QOC President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani. The event brings together more than 1000 shooters representing 32 nations. Team Qatar including Nasser Al Attiyah, Rashed Saleh Hamad and Masoud Saleh Hamad took the first place with 360 points ahead of Kuwait in the second place with 358 points while Kazakhstan finished third with 357 points. The Qatar Shooting and Archery Association President Ali Mohamed Al Kuwari congratulated the Qatari shooters on their achievement and stressed that they claimed the first place after a thrilling competition with Kuwait and Kazakhstan. ​

Morozov, Campbell Crowned Champions in FINA Swimming World Cup

Doha, November 10, 2019- Vladimir Morozov (RUS) and Cate Campbell (AUS) lifted trophies for overall men and women's titles as Doha wrapped up the seven-meet FINA Swimming World Cup 2019 series at the packed Hamad Aquatic Centre on Saturday.Morozov and Campbell also won cluster 3 with 69 and 114 points respectively.While Morozov's (333 points) World Cup title for the second year in a row was confirmed, Campbell (357 points) sealed the overall trophy after winning the 100m freestyle to beat Katinka Hosszu (HUN), who finished second with 312 points.Michelle Coleman (SWE) finished overall third with 174 points in women's field, while Lithuania's Danas Rapsys (234) and Dutchman Arno Kamminga (195) completed the top three overall rankings in men's field.Meanwhile, Campbell clocked 52.61 for her victory on Saturday - her second gold in Doha this year.Campbell said: "I really pushed myself hard this year and I couldn't ask for a better World Cup campaign. Most importantly, I am happy with my time. I want to thank all the people who helped me made this possible."Hosszu, who looked determined to win the overall title, clinched two more gold on the last night but fell short in the points tally.The Iron Lady was victorious in 100m butterfly and 200m IM to complete five victories in Doha. She clocked 58.19 in the fly and 2:09.89 in the IM finals."This is my second best time (100m butterfly), and I am very happy about it. Winning is always special," said Hosszu.Danas Rapsys also grabbed the spotlight after completing a clean sweep of titles in men's 200m freestyle, clocking 1:45.50 for the victory.America's Michael Andrew was another star on the final day, storming to victories in two finals. He clinched the men's 50 butterfly in 22.94 - his second fastest time. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN) - 23.34 and Riku Poytakivi (FIN) 23.60 - claimed silver and bronze medals."My second sub 23, I am super happy. I will get back to training," said Andrew.Barely 15 minutes after winning his first gold medal, Andrew returned to the pool to capture the 100m backstroke victory - his second of the night.In a thrilling men's 200m breaststroke final, Chupkov edged Arno Kamminga (NED) to win gold in 2:08.37. Kamminga touched the wall in 2:08.39 for the second position.Emily Seebohm (AUS) scooped women's 200m backstroke gold after a close race with her team-mate Kaylee Mckeown. Seebohm clocked 2:08.54, while Grabowski was just behind, finishing the race in 2:11.31.Seebohm also secured a bronze medal in 50m breaststroke, with Jhennifer Conceicao (BRA) claiming the title in 30.93.In men's 400m IM, Balazs Hollo (HUN) edged team-mate David Verraszto, securing the win in 4:15.17. Verraszto (4:15.46) was just fractions of a second behind and had to settle for a silver medal. Patrick Staber (AUT) completed the podium in 4:16.03.The women's 800m freestyle title was captured by Tjasa Oder (SLO) in 8:34.65 while Australia clinched victory in mixed 4x100m medley relay followed by Chinese Taipei and Poland.Over 200 swimmers from 44 countries took part in the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019, which the Qatari capital hosted for the eighth consecutive year.

Qatar shooters look for glory at Asian Championship

DOHA, November 10, 2019 - Qatar shooting team members ambitiously looking for spots in Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics when they compete in skeet event of the prestigious 14th Asian Shooting Championships at losail shooting Arena on Sunday.It is worth mentioning that Qatar's Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah stayed on course for a quota spot at next year's Olympics with a fine display in three rounds of qualification in the skeet event at the 14th Asian Shooting Championships on Saturday. The London Olympics bronze medallist shot 74, missing just one of the 75 targets, at the Lusail Shooting Complex and with two more rounds of 25 shots each remaining, looks set to book a place in today's final.Kuwait's Abdullah al-Rashidi hit all the 75 targets to stay on top, while al-Attiyah was tied with India's Angad Bajwa on 74. Seven shooters were in third place with 73. The final is scheduled for 1.30pm today.Meanwhile, India won another Olympic quota yesterday thanks to Tejaswini Sawant in the women's rifle 3-position. The Former World champion finished fifth in qualifications with a score of 1171, which was enough for a place at the next year's Tokyo Olympics. With two Chinese and two Koreans, apart from Mongolia's Yesugen Oyunbat who had booked a berth to Tokyo in air rifle earlier, not in the race for quota, the three spots were taken by the finalists from India, Japan and Iran.The 39-year-old Sawant eventually finished fourth in the final, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal with a last shot of 8.8. China's Mengyao Shi bagged the gold with a score of 457.9, while Mongolia's Yesugen Oyunbat and Japan's Shiori Hirata won the silver and bronze respectively. Iran's Fatemeh Karamzadeh finished fifth.India also won nine medals in all competitions through the day including three more gold, which took their tally to a whopping 44. Olympian Gurpreet Singh bagged the men's standard pistol silver with 586, two points behind Han Daeyoon of Korea. While another Korean Kim Junhong took bronze. The Indian juniors continued to excel, as Jasmeen Kaur and Aadhya Tayal claimed the youth women's rifle and pistol gold medals.

Qatar’s Tamimi advances to third round of PSA Men’s World Championship

Doha, November 10, 2019-World No.47 Abdulla Mohammed Al Tamimi has continued to make history as he once again scripted another upset on Saturday with the defeat of 28-ranked Mathieu Castagnet of France to book a place in the third round of the ongoing PSA Men's World Championship.Continuing in the fine form which saw him became the first Qatari player in history to reach the second round of the men's championship with the defeat of World No.14 Gregoire Marche on Friday, the 24-year-old Aspire Academy graduate emphatically trounced the 33-year-old Frenchman 3-0 (12-10, 11-8, 11-8) in 43 minutes to once again send the appreciative home crowd into wild jubilation.With the master-class performance, Tamimi has discountenanced any suggestion of his earlier win as fluke and proven that he is not a pushover at the prestigious tournament.“I'm very happy with today's victory which is one of my best. Yesterday's victory boosted my confidence and I approached this match with the mindset that anything can happen if I give it my best shot and that's what has happened. I hope to go as far as possible at this tournament and I appreciate the support of the fans who rallied behind me and pushed me on," Tamimi said.Meanwhile, German World No.6 Simon Rösner also moved through to round three after he defeated England's Declan James 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9) to set up a third round encounter with either Welshman Joel Makin or Egypt's Mohamed ElSherbini.The pair are two of the tallest players on the PSA Tour – Rösner standing at six feet, two inches tall, with James coming in at six feet, three inches – and as such there were some traffic issues throughout the match which saw a number of lets and strokes halt the momentum of the match.Second-seed Tarek Momen claims an emphatic 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-5) victory against compatriot Mazen Hesham while 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad defeated Mexico's Cesar Salazar 3-1 (10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7) to advance into the third round.Momen will next face home favourite Abdullah Mohammed Al Tamimi while Gawad faces 2010 World Championship runner-up James Willstrop who stopped the advancement of Egypt's Youssef Ibrahim.

Morozov signs off with two more gold

DOHA, November 09, 2019-The second day of FINA World Cup Doha 2019 witnessed more exciting action, including a dazzling performance by Vladimir Morozov of Russia and a new World Cup record by Mykhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine at the packed Hamad Aquatic CentreMorozov, who is set to lift the men's overall World Cup trophy, won two more gold medals yesterday, after his triumph in 50m freestyle on the first day. The 27-year-old Russian first completed a clean sweep of all seven titles in 50m backstroke, winning the event in 24.75. Morozov then claimed 100m freestyle victory to finish with three gold medals.“That's it, my World Cup is over. I am very happy with my performance this year. My best moment of this World Cup will come when I will lift the (overall) trophy," said Morozov.In men's 1,500m freestyle fastest heats, Romanchuk set a new World Cup record, winning the race in 14:51.61 to surpass Gregorio Paltrinieri's (ITA) record of 14:55.06, he made in Moscow 2015. Jan Micka (CZE) and Gergely Gyurta took silver and bronze medals. Romanchuk said: “The plan was to break a World Cup record. It's so amazing that I have done it. I love this country and amazing support here in Doha".Also yesterday, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) completed clean sweep of seven titles in 400 IM. The Iron Lady claimed the victory after picking up pace in the last 200m, leaving her team-mate Zsuzsanna Jakabos behind to win in 4:37.39. Jakabos got silver medal for her time of 4:40.19 while Seoyeong Kim (KOR) won bronze in 4:40.23. Hosszu said: “It was a fun race. I am happy to win all the titles in this event. It's always nice to race in front of Hungarian fans present here. I am having a good time in Doha."Chad Le Clos (RSA) lived up to expectations of his huge number of fans in Doha, sealing the 200m butterfly title in 1:57.66 - his second gold medal after his 100m butterfly triumph on the first day. “That was a hard race. I was nervous but did well in the end to finish with a win. I love the support here and didn't want to disappoint them," said Le Clos.Jakabos also clinched a victory, winning the women's 200m butterfly while Kira Toussaint (NED) was winner in women's 100m backstroke. Gold medal in women's 50m butterfly went to Jeanette Ottesen (DEN), who swam 26.06 to finish on top. Cate Campbell (AUS), overall leader in women's field, came in second place. The men's 200m IM title went to Keita Sunama (JPN), who clocked 1:59.28 for victory. He was followed by Philip Heintz (GER) 2:00.15 and David Verraszto (HUN) 2:01.43. Japan got their second gold through Yasuhiro Koseki, who defeated Felipe Lima (BRA) in the men's 50m breaststroke. He clocked 27.07 while Lima finished in 27.11 to take silver. Dutchman Arno Kamminga (27.12) claimed the bronze medal.Jhennifer Conceicao (BRA) prevailed in the women's 100m breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:08.28. Vitalina Simonova (RUS) and Eszter Bekesi (HUN) won silver and bronze. Australia was on top in the mixed 4x100m freestyle – the final race of the second day.12 more finals will be held on the last day of the final meet on Saturday, following which the overall winners and clusters 3 champions will be announced.

Qatar defeat Turkmenistan in AFC Under 19 Qualifiers

DOHA, November 9, 2019 - Captain Naif Abdulraheem Al Hadhrami led from the front with two superb goals while striker Mekki Mohsen matched him in every way as Qatar turned on the style in the second half to defeat Turkmenistan in their second match in Group B of the AFC Under 19 Qualifiers at Aspire Grounds on Friday.Qatar, who defeated Sri Lanka 5-1 in their opening match on Wednesday, have six points and just need a draw against Yemen to ensure their berth in the finals in Uzbekistan in next October.Though Qatar ran riot in the second half, Turkmenistan had given them a tough challenge in the opening period.Mekki was Qatar's biggest goal threat in the first 45 minutes during which he tested Turkmenistan goalkeeper with a fierce shot that Orayev Amanmuhammet struggled to keep hold of.Turkmenistan too had a good chance as Myradov Begenchmyrat broke free before Qatar goalkeeper Yousef Abdulla made a fine save to deny the forward.After a goalless first half Qatar took the in the 53rd minute through a stunning goal.When Qatar's playmaker Naif received a ball from the left flank there was no apparent danger on Turkmenistan goal.But Naif took a touch and unleashed a powerful shot from more than 25 yards that Amanmuhammet failed to keep away despite getting a hand to it.Turkmenistan tried to come back and almost immediately Begenchmyrat drew a fingertip save from keeper Abdulla when he headed Hydyrow Shamammet corner goalwards.Begenchmyrat was not to be denied in the 58th minute when he met Myratberdiyev Rahman's cross with a beautiful header.Qatar regained the lead five minutes later with Mekki providing the cross for Naif who swept the ball home from close range.And within five minutes they increased the lead and this time Mekki got the name in the score sheet when he met Jassim Mohammed Al Mehairi cross with a superb header.The same pair was behind the fourth goal as well as Mekki met Al Mehairi's cross with a simple tap in in the 81st minute.In between, Qatar were down to 10 men when Mohamed Emad got a second yellow card for kicking the ball away, but by then Qatar were home and dry and were threatening for more.Qatar coach Fabio Cesar was full of praise for his players."Congratulations to our players they played a very good game. We knew this would be a tough match as Turkmenistan are well organised and physically very strong. But were played as a group which is our biggest strength and managed to turn the game in the second half, said Fabio.The Former Qatar player said Naif's goal opened the game for them."Naif's goal opened the game for us while Mekki is a reference for us in the attack. But like I said, teamwork is our biggest strength and we need to continue the same way in the next match against Yemen, who are a very good team," added Fabio.Yemen earlier defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 to warm up for Sunday's crucial encounter.