Al Tamimi, Amjad qualify to second round of PSA Men’s World Championship

Doha, November 09, 2019-Qatar's most successful player and home favourite, Abdullah Mohammed Al Tamimi, claimed a deserved victory against France's Gregoire Marche 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9) in the opening round of the prestigious PSA Men's World Championship at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Friday.Currently ranked No. 46, the 24-year-old player, who reached a career-high world ranking of 28 in August 2018, ensured that the difference in ranking between him and his opponent counted for nothing as he dispatched the 14th-ranked Frenchman in 50mins inside the glass court of the ultra-modern complex to send the home fans wild in jubilation for the wonderful feat.“I am very proud of today's victory and I am happier with the way I handled the pressure and came out triumphant. I intend to continue in this form and go as far as possible. The win is no doubt a confidence booster and I believe greater things lie ahead for me at this tournament," Tamimi, the former Aspire Academy graduate, said.While Tamimi won, his compatriot Hamad Al Amri, however, suffered a straight set (11-4, 11-4, 11-3) defeat in the hands of New Zealand's Paul Coll, the tournament's fourth-seeded player.On the other, Qatar Sayyed Amjad also qualified to the second round after beating Iker Bernabeu of Spain in the first round.Tournament top-seed Mohamed ElShorbagy and 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad were emphatic in their first round victories at the PSA Men's World Championship on Friday as they posted straight set victories against their opponents – Frenchmen Victor Crouin and Auguste Dussourd respectively.While former World No.1 and 2017 champion ElShorbagy claimed a 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7) triumph against Crouin, his Egyptian compatriot Gawad defeated World No.63 Dussourd (11-4, 11-8, 13-11).For Gawad, it is a continuation of the red-hot form which saw him emerge champion at the CIB Egyptian Squash Open last week in Cairo. Dussourd, who qualified for the event after winning the Aspin Cup, showed some nice touches, but didn't have the consistency to stick with Gawad over the course of the 28-minute match, and the Egyptian progresses to take on Mexico's Cesar Salazar for a spot in the third round of the $335,000 total prize purse tournament.For ElShorbagy, who is hoping to be third time lucky after previously losing twice in the final of the World Championship to the same opponent Ramy Ashour (2012 and 2014) in the Qatari capital, the win probably posited a sign of good things to come particularly with the absence of World No.1 Ali Farag who unfortunately could not make the trip to Doha due to personal bereavement.“I'm happy with the victory and I hope to continue in this fine form. Playing in Doha has always been exciting and I hope to be lucky this time around," said the 28-year-old player.Meanwhile, second-seed Tarek Momen made it 3-1 (12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4) against Germany's Raphael Kandra in 52 mins of exciting action to ensure a perfect scaling through for the three top-seeded players in the opening round.

Yangpaiboon wins gold as Thailand seal two Olympics spots

DOHA, November 9, 2019 - Naphaswan Yangpaiboon secured an Olympic quota for Thailand as she won the women's 25 metres pistol final at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha on Friday.At the Lusail Shooting Complex, it was a double delight for Thailand as Tanyaporn Prucksakorn also won her country a spot at the next year's Tokyo Games. India's Chinki Yadav and Mongolia's Otryadyn Gundegmaa were the others to bag the quotas for their countries.All the four had ensured the Olympic qualification after having entered the final, as the two Chinese and two Koreans had already won the quota. Yangpaiboon made it an unforgettable day for as the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist won the event with a score of 36. Gundegmaa finished second with 33, while China's Zhang Jingjing took home bronze after scoring 28. South Korea's Kim Jangmi, the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist in the event, had to settle for fourth place with 26 points.Yadav, who finished sixth in the event, won India's second Olympic quota in her category following Rahi Sarnobat's triumph at the ISSF Munich World Cup earlier this year. Thai Prucksakorn came seventh but with Olympic quotas achieved, it was a mission accomplished for the shooters.In the men's 25m standard pistol event, China's Yao Zhaonan triumphed with 578 points. India's Udhayveer Sidhu took silver with 577 points and South Korea's Han Daeyoon came third with 572. There was also success for China in the women's 50m rifle prone event, Wan Xiangyan taking the gold medal with 627.2 points. South Korea's Lee Eunseo was the runner-up with 625.1 points and was followed in the standings by Malaysia's Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi with 622.2. In the equivalent men's event, Kazakhstan's Konstantin Malinovskiy won with 625.1 points. Completing the top three were China's Liu Gang and Li Xinmiao, with points totals of 623.8 and 623.6 respectively.In the mixed team trap final, Kuwait's Abdulrahman al-Faihan and Sarah Alhawal beat China's He Weidong and Deng Weiyun 34-32. Chinese Taipei's Liu Wan-Yu and Yang Kun-Pi took bronze after defeating Kazakhstan's Maxim Kolomoyets and Anastassiya Davydova 42-39. Meanwhile, India's juniors continued to excel, as their medal tally swelled to 35 of which six are in gold.The results:Mixed trap: 1. Kuwait 34 (147 AR); 2. China-A 32 (144); 3. Chinese Taipei-A 42 (141); 4. Kazakhstan-A 39 (143) Men: 25m standard pistol: 1. Yao Zhaonan (Chn)578; 2. Udhayveer Sidhu (Ind) 577; 3. Han Daeyoon (Kor) 572. Team: 1. India 1710; 2. China 1709; 3. Korea 1705. 50m rifle prone: 1. Konstantin Malinovskiy (Kaz) 625.1; 2. Lliu Gang (Chn) 623.8; 3. Lli Xinmiao (Chn) 623.6 Team: 1. China 1868.9; 2. India 1865.1; 3. Korea 1860.5. Women: 25m sports pistol: 1. Naphaswan Yangpaiboon (Tha) 36 (590); 2. Gundegmaa Otryad (Mgl) 33 (587); 3. Zhang Jingjing (Chn) 28 (585) Team: 1. Korea 1751; 2. China 1751; 3. Thailand 1748; 5. India 1735. 50m rifle prone: 1. Wan Xiangyan (Chn) 627.2; 2. Lee Eunseo (Kor) 625.1; 3. Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi (Mas) Team: 1. India 1864.8; 2. China 1862.4; 3. Korea 1855.5. Junior men: 25m standard pistol: 1. Nikita Chiryukin (Kaz) 568; 2. Lee Gunhyeok (Kor) 567; 3. Harsh Gupta (Ind) 565 Team: 1. Korea 1690; 2. India 1680; 3. China 1663.Junior men: 10m air rifle: 1. Rudrankksh Patil (Ind) 249.0 (620.7); 2. Srijay Ranjanbabu (Ind) 248.8 (624.7); 3. Liu Xiyang (Chn) 225.7 (621.1) Team: 1. India 1871.0; 2. China 1858.0; 3. Thailand 1806.6. 10m air pistol: 1. Naveen 241.2 (Ind) (578); 2. Kim Junhyun (Kor) 238.2 (572); 3. Yang Shuqiang (Chn) 220.1 (564) Team: 1. India 1710; 2. Thailand 1691; 3. China 1685.

Rich haul for India and China at Asian Shooting Championships

Doha, November 08, 2019-Indian and Chinese juniors proved they are not too far behind their seniors by winning most of the accolades on the third day of the Asian Shooting Championships at the Lusail Shooting Complex yesterday.Both countries claimed five gold medals each yesterday. Such was their domination that no other country managed to win a single gold on the day.The stars for India were 14-year-old prodigy Esha Singh and 17-year-old Vivaan Kapoor who won one individual and team gold each. This was Kapoor's third gold of the championships, having won the mixed trap title earlier.Singh clinched the gold in the 10m Air Pistol event for junior women by shooting 242.2, with South Korea's Jeong Hyo bagging the silver with a score of 237.3. India's Priya Raghav took the bronze with a total of 217.6. Singh also led throughout the qualification, scoring 579.The Indian trio of Singh, Raghav and Yuvika Tomar also claimed the team gold with a cumulative score of 1721, with China claiming silver with 1702 and Chinese Taipei the bronze with 1687.Meanwhile, Kapoor, a fast-rising youngster of whom there are great expectations, shot his way to gold in the Trap competition for junior men.He led throughout the qualifications, staving off stiff competition from compatriot Bhowneesh Mendiratta. In the final, Kapoor shot 45, while Mendiratta had 42. China's Li Swei claimed the bronze.Kapoor, Mendritta and Manavaditya Singh Rathore also clinched the team gold with a total of 347.2, while China and Kuwait finished second and third respectively.Bhakti Bhaskar Khamkar won India's fifth gold of the day, besting the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women Junior event with a dominating 453.1 in the final. China's Yu Jianuan who won silver finished with 448.7, more than four behind Bhakti. Bhakti, Ayushi Podder and Nishchal also won the team silver in the event. So did the trio of Niraj Kumar, Harshrajsinhji Gohil and Nitish Kumar in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men Junior event. Niraj also picked up the individual silver.Meanwhile, Chinki Yadav stayed in the hunt for a quota spot for India in the women's 25m Pistol competition.Chinki shot an exceptional 292 and will be looking to make the final on Friday and take a shot at clinching one of the four available Tokyo berths. Rahi Sarnobat has already secured the other quota place for India in the event in earlier competitions.

Final meet of FINA Swimming World Cup begins

Doha, November 08, 2019 - The FNA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019, organized by Qatar Swimming Association (QSA), kicked off at the Hamad Aquatic Centre on Thursday.The opening ceremony was attended by HE First Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al-Thani, HE Secretary General of the QOC Jassim Rashid Al Buainain, Honorary President of the Arab Swimming Federation Yousef Al Saie, and President of QSA and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Championship Khalil Al Jaber, and a number of guests.Overall leaders Vladimir Morozov (RUS) and Cate Campbell (AUS) clinched gold medals on the first day of FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019 on Thursday.Katinka Hosszu (HUN) and South African star Chad Le Clos also thrilled their fans at the Hamad Aquatic Centre by winning gold medals, while Danas Rapsys (LTU) also grabbed the spotlight by completing a clean sweep of gold medals in men's 400 freestyle with his seventh successive win.Morozov, who came to the seventh and final meet with a huge 87-point lead, further strengthened his position for over title after winning the thrilling men's 50m freestyle final, clocking 21.83 - just fractions of a second ahead of Kosuke Matsui (JPN) 22.02 and Maxim Lobanovskij (HUN) 22.04.Campbell, meanwhile, was fastest (24.11) in the 50m freestyle final as she edged Michelle Coleman (SWE) 24.50, who won silver in an exciting finish.Campbell, who was leading Hosszu by 24 points in the overall rankings after Kazan meet, is still facing a tough competition from the Hungarian, who won the 200m butterfly title on Thursday.Hosszu clocked 2:08.60 for her 302nd World Cup victory, beating team-mate Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:08.95).Multi-Olympic medalist, Le Clos took win in 100m butterfly with Jakub Majerski (POL) and Michael Andrew (USA) getting the next two positions respectively.In the men's 400 freestyle, Rapsys was clinical as he took victory in 3:47.87 with Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) 3:48.61 and Jan Micka (CZE) (3:50.20) taking silver and bronze medal.Yasuhiro Koseki (JPN) stunned cluster leader Anton Chupkov (RUS) in 100m breaststroke with a gold medal in 59.11. The Russian finished third with a time of 59.83 behind Arno Kamminga (NED) 59.25.Dutchwoman Kira Toussaint was the winner in women's 50m backstroke with a time of 27.80, finishing ahead of Kaylee Mckeown (AUS) 27.92 and Emily Seebohm (AUS) 28.08.Australia's Bradley Woodward clinched his maiden World Cup title with a victory in men's 200m backstroke. Marlene Kahler (AUT) dominated the womens 400m freestyle, winning gold in 4:10.51.Hungary got their second gold medal of the day when Eszter Bekesi won the women's 200m breaststroke.

Sheikh Joaan Meets President of International Shooting Sport Federation

​Doha, November 08, 2019- (QNA) - HE President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani met here yesterday with HE President of the International Shooting Sport Federation Vladimir Lisin , who is now in Doha to attend the 14th Asian Shooting Championships.At the beginning of the meeting, HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad welcomed the President of the International Shooting Sport Federation, praising the fruitful cooperation between the Qatari and international federations of the game.For his part, Vladimir Lisin praised the outstanding status of the State of Qatar in terms of sports, and the organizational and technical level of the 14th Asian Championship held at the Lusail Square.The meeting also reviewed aspects of bilateral cooperation and ways of boosting and developing them. (QNA)

Qatar men win again as China and Korea remain untouched

DOHA, November 6, 2019 - Qatar's men's team stayed on the ice to savour the moment after their win against Hong Kong on Tuesday morning in Shenzhen, China. This marked their second victory of the event – the first time ever beating anyone other than Kazakhstan.After a back and forth battle, it came down to Hong Kong skip, Jason Chang's, final stone. Chang flashed his attempt at a take-out for two points, giving Qatar a stolen point, and the victory 8-5.Qatar lead Abdulrahman Ali Mohsen was delighted after the game, “We were playing our best so we feel really good winning this game, and we had fun.“At the beginning of the game we felt we were in control, but when they scored three we thought we may lose the game. But then we responded strongly after half time and won it."At the top of the standings remains China and Korea, who are undefeated, with Japan close behind at four wins and one loss.New Zealand also picked up a key victory this session, against Chinese Taipei, to lock in fourth place, 8-7.