Qatar qualify for AFC Under-23 Championship

DOHA, March 27, 2019-The Qatari national team qualified for the AFC U23 Championship to be staged in Thailand as Group A winners after an exciting 2-2 draw against Oman at the Aspire Ground on Tuesday.Qatar, who had earlier defeated Afghanistan 2-0 and blanked Nepal 5-0 finished with seven points and a goal difference of seven to ensure their passage into the finals.Oman also finished with seven points but will now have to wait for the remainder of the group to know their fate.Hassan Ahmed Palang was the star for Qatar, scoring a brace in the second half.It was Oman who took the lead, through Amran Al Hidi's powerful header, in the 19th minute.After Amro Abdelfatah Surag hit the upright with a brilliant curling effort in the final minute of the first half, Palang scored the equaliser in the 50th minute with a superb header.Palang gave the hosts the lead with another header in the 73rd minute, only for Oman to equalise through Saud Al Habsi four minutes later.

ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open gets underway

DOHA, March 27, 2019-Thailand's Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon beat Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan - who has four ITTF World Tour men's singles titles to his credit - on the opening day of qualifying matches at the ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.Supanut produced a solid round of table tennis to post a 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 win at Ali Bin Attiyah Arena at the March 26-31 championship.The opening day of the event was attended by HE the QOC Secretary General Mr. Jassim Al Buenain.In stark comparison to the four titles by the Chinese star, the best for Supanut at an open international tournament was last year at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF Challenge Nigerian Open when he reached the semi-finals. Currently on the men's world rankings, he is listed at no.111; Chuang Chih-Yuan stands at no.19.Qatar's Ahmed Al Mohannadi defeated India's Grover Sudhanshu 4-1.Also, Germany's Ricardo Walther beat Denmark's Zhai Yujia who was crowned champion in Spain just two days ago.The 24 year old Danish star was beaten in the men's singles preliminary round by Walther 12-10, 5-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8.Winner at the 2014 ITTF World Cadet Challenge in Barbados, Korea Republic's Hwang Minha caused a major men's singles preliminary second round shock when he beat Denmark's Jonathan Groth in seven games (13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7).Presently on the men's world rankings, Hwang Minha is listed at no.170, Jonathan Groth at no.23.Meanwhile India's Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Sharath Kamal Achanta and Amalraj Anthony all enjoyed men's singles preliminary round success.Gnanasekaran beat Sweden's Truls Moregard (11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7), Achanta accounted for Frenchman Benjamin Brossier (15-13, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5), Anthony ended the hopes of Kanak Jha of the US (6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7).China suffered its first casualty of the day with Yu Ziyang losing out in his opening Men's Singles encounter: despite holding a two games lead Yu Ziyang proved unable to get over the finish line as Slovenia's Bojan Tokic emerged with a 4-2 victory to his name (8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6).Starting the year with an exceptional display last month at the CCB 2019 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup competition but in Doha there was to be no such joy for Daniel Habesohn with the experienced Austrian competitor suffering a crushing 4-0 defeat at the hands of up-and-coming Danish star Anders Lind (13-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8).There were shock exits for major qualification contenders in the women's singles preliminary round.Neither one of Puerto Rico's Adriana Díaz nor India's Manika Batra will play any further part in women's singles qualification following shock defeats at the very first hurdle in Doha.Leading by a two games margin but that wasn't enough for Adriana Diaz to prevent Serbian star Sabina Surjan from snatching the win in a seven game thriller (6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7, 12-14, 11-7) while Manika Batra was knocked out by Korea's Kim Youjin in straight games (11-7, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5).

Qatar to take on Oman in AFC U23 Championship qualifications

DOHA, March 26, 2019-The Qatari Olympic team will take on their Omani counterparts in a crucial match on Tuesday to decide the winners of AFC U23 Championship qualifying Group A.The Qatari team lead Group A with six points from two victories over Afghanistan and Nepal while Oman occupy the second place with 6 points.Earlier on Sunday, the hosts continued their trouble-free start to their campaign, producing a commanding second half performance to overpower Nepal 5-0.Superior goal difference means Albert Caballeria's side will need only a draw against Oman to secure direct qualification on Tuesday while Nepal will play against Afghanistan.

ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open to begin on Tuesday

DOHA, March 26, 2019-The 2019 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Qatar Open will kick off today at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena.The tournament will run till Sunday with the participation of 275 seeded players from 51 countries including five Arab countries — Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. The tournament carries a total prize pot of $300,000.Details on the tournament were revealed during a press conference which was attended by Khaleel al-Mohannadi, president of Qatar and Arab table tennis associations, and the first vice-president of both Asian Table Tennis Federation and ITTF, Ali Sultan al-Muftah, assistant secretary of the federation and head of the tournament, ITTF CEO Steve Dainton, ITTF executive vice-president Bruce Burton, and members of the organising committee.Qatar's national team includes Ahmed al-Awlaqi, Abdulrahman al-Naggar, Abdulla al-Sada, Fahed al-Mughanne, Abdulaziz al-Hajaji, Ahmed Khalil El Mohannadi, Mohamed Abdulwahhab.The women's team will comprise Maha Faramarzi and Aia Mohamed.Al-Mohannadi said the federation always aims to organise the Qatar Open in the best way possible, revealing that the players' accommodation will include a training hall for the first time. He added that the federation is currently reviewing the possibility of holding next year's tournament in Lusail as the number of participating countries increase to 60.Al-Muftah said the organising committee has completed all the required preparations to hold a great event.Dainton said reaching the 24th edition of the tournament and sustaining it is not easy. He said setting up a training hall for the players in the hotel for the first time in any tournament is a new facility for players and a great idea.He said the organisation of all ITTF meetings in Qatar has been easy and all past events have been successful which shows the strength of the Qatari organisation.Burton also expressed his delight for being in Qatar and for being charge of the referee development. He added that it has been a pleasure to be in Doha to discuss the referees' preparations for the Olympics and the World Cup in Hungary.

Sheikh Joaan meets Italian Ambassador

​Doha, March 26, 2019- (QNA) - President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al - Thani met yesterday with HE Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to the State, Pasquale Salzano.During the meeting, HE Sheikh Joaan praised the relations of cooperation between the two countries. The meeting reviewed aspects of sports cooperation and ways to boost them in the coming stage.HE Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain attended the meeting.(QNA)

Qatar to face Nepal in AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers

DOHA, March 24, 2019 - Qatar will take on Nepal in the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers at the Aspire on Sunday.The hosts are in Group A, with Nepal and Oman being the other two teams and will be aiming to make their third appearance in the AFC U-23 Championship, the 2020 edition of which will be held in Thailand.Qatar is leading group A , following its a deserving 2-0 victory over Afghanistan on Friday.