Qatar classic 2018 gets underway

DOHA, October 28, 2018-The 2018 Qatar Classic began at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Saturday.World No. 24 Abdulla Mohammed Al Tamimi of Qatar crashed out unexpectedly after suffering an opening round 1-3 (11-3, 8-11, 9-11, 5-11) defeat in the hands of Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng in just 40 minutes on Saturday.Home favourite Tamimi was widely tipped to continue his fine form in Doha on the back of a successful run on the PSA Tour this season. It was, however, not meant to be as he had to make an early exit to the surprise of the fans that trooped out in impressive numbers to support their star player.The first game was a pointer to what was to expect on the day as it was over in a flash, seven minutes precisely.Tamimi bounced back in the second game, taking it in 10 mins but that was all the Qatari could muster as he eventually bowed to the superior play of the 42-ranked Malaysian." There was no pressure on me today. I fought back very well in the third game after being down and just kept focusing and believing that I could do it, and it paid off!" Yow said. “The win means a lot to me. I've fell short at a very major events of making the main draw but finally have made that first win, thanks to the new rules I can play the first round of all the Platinium events. So I will just keep pushing."Australia's Cameron Pilley celebrated his 36th birthday in grand style with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-5) defeat of Abdulrahman Al Malki of Qatar on Day 1.It took just 26 minutes for the hard-hitting player, who in May 2014 hit a ball at 176 mph to break his own record, to advance into the next round of the annual tournament.The tournament which was witnessed by an impressive crowd, despite the inclement weather, saw the New South Wales-born world No. 23 Aussie prove the gulf in class between the two players as he effectively frustrated any chances of an upset by the Qatari who is one of the hosts' two wildcard entrants.

USA's Biles shines in Artistic Gymnastics World Championships

DOHA, October 28, 2018 - Simone Biles launched herself and her U.S. squad to first place Friday as women's qualification began at the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Doha (QAT), where the 21-year-old Olympic champion unveiled a new ultra-difficult vault.At stake in qualification are spots in the team, individual All-around and apparatus finals in the qualification competition advance to the finals at the world championships. The three medal-winning nations in the team final earn berths to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (JPN). Additionally, the top 24 teams in Doha advance full teams to the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart (GER).Biles made her return to international competition in Doha after taking a break in 2017. She amazed on all four events in Friday evening's fifth subdivision of qualification, electrifying the Aspire Arena as she shot to the top of the individual rankings in the All-around, Vault, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise, and second place on Uneven Bars.One overarched handstand on Bars and two small wobbles on Beam were the talented Texan's most noticeable errors. With a total of 60.965, she leads the All-around by 4.5 points, an astonishing margin, over her teammate Morgan Hurd, the defending world champion.Biles' performance was all the more remarkable considering her late-night visit to the emergency room on Thursday for an untimely kidney stone, which she said caused her to skip Friday's training sessions. She showed no signs of a struggle in competition, even debuting her new vault of Yurchenko half-on, double-twisting layout handspring front off, which was given a Difficulty rating of 6.4. With just a small hop on the landing, Biles scored 15.966, the highest score of both the men's and women's competition so far. She scored the same Execution mark of 9.566 for her second vault of 2 1/2-twisting Yurchenko, valued at 5.8.Hurd, who took the All-around gold and Balance Beam silver at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal (CAN), showed world champion form as she helped the U.S. women tally 174.429, more than 12 points ahead of Japan, currently in second. Mai Murakami (JPN) is currently ranked third ahead of Nina Derwael (BEL) and Riley McCusker (USA), who fell on her layout, layout series on Beam.The top eight gymnasts on each apparatus advance to the individual finals, with a limit of two gymnasts per nation in any one event. Asian Games Vault champion Yeo Seojeong, a first-year senior, turned in two difficult vaults, though her average of 14.483 is more than 1 point behind Biles. Seven-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina (UZB), a crowd favourite, also vaulted cleanly for third so far.Derwael, the two-time European champion on Uneven Bars, confirmed her favourite status on the event with a highly difficult 6.5 routine that earned 15.066. Three-time Olympian Elisabeth Seitz delivered a third-best 14.566 that helped Germany to third place currently.On Balance Beam, American newcomer Kara Eaker matched Biles' Difficulty to score 14.466, currently second behind Biles. Olympic champion Sanne Wevers (NED) is sitting in third place after missing a connection that lowered her Difficulty score.Murakami, the defending world champion on Floor Exercise, is currently second to Biles, followed by Hurd. Qualification concludes Sunday in Doha, where former world champions China and Russia will take the floor and try to shake up the standings.

Jana Al Kiki to begin her campaign in Artistic Gymnastics World Championships

Doha, October 27, 2018- Qatar's Jana Al Kiki will begin her campaign in Women's qualifications at the 48th edition of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 on Saturday.The tournament began at the magnificent Aspire Dome on Thursday morning.Simone Biles of USA will take the center stage at Aspire Dome on Saturday. The Olympic champion holds court wherever she goes and it was no different in Doha.At 21, Biles is already one of the greatest gymnasts ever to grace the sport, and by the time she winds up her career she could be perched alone at the top, at least in terms of the medals won.On the other hand, Qatari gymnasts Ahmed Nabil and Ahmed Al Dayani have expressed their happiness over participating in the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and over competing with world and Olympic champions at Aspire Dome.On the pressure of competing in a World Championships in front of his home crowd, Ahmed Nabil said: "It's only my second appearance in the World Championships and there was a little bit more pressure, with the home support and the fact that I was competing in the same place I train. I expected to perform better than this. I made some mistakes, but I still performed better than last year in Canada (2017 Worlds in Montreal)."He added that participating, competing and representing Qatar in the first Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in the region is a great honor and a history for any player, wishing to his colleague Jana Al Kiki success in her participation on Saturday in the women's competitions.Ahmed Al Dayani said the competition in the World Championships is certainly something fantastic for us, especially since the championship is held here in Qatar, pointing out that this tournament was a great opportunity to meet the champions of the world and benefit from their experience.In addition to hosts Qatar, five Arab countries: Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Jordan are taking part in the championship, along with the world's top stars such as Olympic champion Oksana Chusovitina, Olympic gymnast Emily Little and Japanese Kohei Uchimura who has won 6 consecutive world championships and other male and female champions.

stage set for Qatar Classic 2018

DOHA, October 26, 2018- The 16th edition of Qatar Classic will be held in Doha from October 27 to November 2, 2018.World No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt will lead the pack of 48 players, including most of the world's top 20, who will be competing for the tournament's total cash prize of $177,750 and trophy.Squash fans will have the wonderful opportunity of witnessing their favourite stars, including world No.2 Ali Farag, 2011 winner Gregory Gaultier, the in-form Simon Rosner and Miguel Angel Rodriguez among others.Qatari champion Abdulla Mohamed al-Tamimi, and Syed Azlan Amjad and Abdulrahman al-Malki, who will appear in the main draw for the first since the 2006 edition, are leading the Qatari challenge.As a PSA World Tour Platinum tournament, the winner of the event will automatically qualify for a coveted berth at the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals.Men and women both will compete at the season-ending championships, with the reigning PSA World Champions, season's Platinum event winners and players that qualify by placing high enough on the PSA Road to Dubai Leaderboard making up the draw.“There is a huge expectation from this year's tournament considering the calibre of players. We are delighted to play host to such a strong field. Fans of squash in the country are set for a week-long feast of great games which is something we are happy about. Ticket sales have been quite encouraging and we believe Qatar Classic 2018 will be the best ever," says tournament director Tareq Zainal.Ticket sales are on for event that will be hosted at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, which already wears a new look with attractive branding reflecting the mood of the tournament.Tickets are available online at www.qatarsquash.org and at the ticket booth located next to Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation gate.

QOC marks World Walking Day

​DOHA, October 26, 2018 - The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Thursday celebrated World Walking Day in Aspire Park which is held in October under the auspices of the Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA).The event was attended by a number of old Qatari players, Aspire staff, Qatar Scouts and Qatar Olympic Committee officials, as well as students representing 12 schools, and all participated in the 1km walk around Aspire Park.The Director of Sports Affairs Department of the QOC Khalil Al Jabir said that World Walking Day is of great importance as it is part of the QOC Community Program Plan and reflects the interest in spreading the concept of sport for all. Through this event, we call on everyone to practice sports of all kinds, especially walking, because of its importance in combating disease and because it is useful to its practitioners at all times.For his part, Head of Community Sports Unit at Qatar Olympic Committee Abdulaziz Al Ghanim said that the Olympic Committee is keen every year to participate in this celebration in order to consolidate the importance of exercise, especially walking because of its great health importance to individuals, noting that the World Walking Day is implemented through the International Olympic Committee represented by the Association for International Sport for All, adding that he is pleased with the large participation of students and a large number of amateurs and walking lovers.The aim of World Walking Day is to introduce the concept of sport for all and to highlight the right of all members of the society without exception to exercise all types of sports activities that are competitive, which helps to promote physical activity, especially that walking creates less stress on joints and it is the safest and most acceptable to all people.

Artistic Gymnastics World Championships gets underway

DOHA, October 26, 2018 - The 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships kicked off on Thursday with the participation of male and female gymnasts to compete across 10 days at Aspire Academy Dome in Doha.The championship was officially opened in the presence of HE Second Vice President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, HE QOC Secretary General Jassim Rashid Al Buenain, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Morinari Watanabe, and President of the Asian Gymnastics Federation Abdulrahman Al Shathri, a number of the championship's guests and the director and members of the organizing committee.The opening ceremony began with Qatar's national anthem and then the entry of the participating countries. It included the performance of male and female players section, in which the Qatari gymnast player Jana Al Kiki participated. It followed by the performance of the referees and coaches and an entertaining show by the Chinese team of acrobatics.FIG President Morinari Watanabe and chief executive of the organizing committee Ali Al Hitmi announced the official launch of the competition for the first time in the Arab region and the Middle East, with nearly 700 male and female gymnasts from 78 countries competing for gold medals and qualifying to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.The participants praised the decorated ASPIRE Dome. The organizing committee equipped the main Aspire Dome in addition to 4 training rooms. It placed the public at the forefront and increased the number of seats in the main hall to 6,000 seats in order to provide the opportunity for the largest number of fans to watch the tournament.The world and Olympic champions include Simone Biles of USA, who has won several gold medals at various Olympic Games, Angelina Melnikova of Russia, Luo Huan of China, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and other heroes who will do their best in order to win gold medals and book place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.At the official Opening Ceremony, FIG President described Qatar as a blossoming garden for gymnastics in the Middle East.President Watanabe wore a thobe - traditional Qatari dress - for the occasion, hold his hands in the air with Ali Al Hitmi as a visual representation of how World Championships can unity cultures and countries.Addressing the crowd, President Watanbe: "Qatar Gymnastics Federation has made a wonderful garden in the middle of the desert. For 10 days from today, with the power of our gymnasts, we'll see the beautiful and strong flowers bloom in the Aspire Dome. I wish all gymnasts good luck."Chief executive of the organizing committee Ali Al Hitmi thanked HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for his support to sport, which is an integral part of Qatar Vision 2030. This insightful vision contributed to introducing Qatar as a world leader in hosting major tournaments, he said.He added that the State of Qatar has a great role in the development of sports of all kinds, as it is keen to host major sporting events at the highest level in line with its National Vision 2030, stressing that building a solid sports culture and promoting its growth and prosperity in the country is one of the most important reasons for hosting important tournaments such as the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2018. Since hosting the Asian Games 2006 and beyond events and tournaments, the experience and knowledge in the regulatory field have been increased, which strengthens Qatar's position as a major regional and global sports hub.He added: "Hosting this prestigious event in Qatar will give us the opportunity to take gymnastics to new heights in our country and drive passion and engagement for the sport amongst our communities; expanding gymnastics reach and encouraging even more Qatari residents to become involved, whether participating or spectating.