Qatar participates in World Triathlon Championships

DOHA, September 25, 2018-The QCTF delegation has returned from the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships and Congress held on the Gold Coast of Australia this September 2018.The ITU and Asian Triathlon Federation Congresses (ASTC) were attended by QCTF Vice President, leading triathlon, Professor Nasser Al-Mohannadi and QCTF Triathlon Coordinator and Age-group team manager, Bernard McCullagh. Nasser Al-Mohannadi, QCTF Vice President, leading the triathlon programme said, “The congress was a great moment for country, with the Asian and Global bodies seeing the real progress being made by the federation for the long-term development and success of the triathlon in Qatar. This was carried out through discussions during asian and International meetings and with their presidents followed with carrying flag in the opening ceremony and competing in the world championships event"In addition to the congress success, the first ever Qatari's participated in the ITU Age Group World Championships.Age-group competitions occur in five-year age bands from 20-24 all the way into the 70's and 80's and allow committed and passionate athletes to compete on the international stage against their peers. Unlike Elite athletes, athletes are self-funded and have to balance their intensive training programmes alongside demanding career commitments.Qatari athletes competed in both the Sprint Distance Triathlon (750m swim/20km Bike/5km Run) and Olympic Distance Triathlon (1500m swim/40km Bike/10km Run) events.The top performance was achieved by Essa Al-Maadeed who completed the Olympic Distance event in total time of 2h23m53s to finish 70 th in the World in his age-group (25-29.The next opportunities exist for Qatari's to participate in Age-Group world championship April 29-May 4 th at the ITU Multisport World Championships in Portugal, where athletes can represent their nation in the Long-Distance Triathlon (3km swim/120km bike/5km swim), Duathlon (run-bike-run), Aquabike (swim-bike) and Aquathlon (swim-run).

Doha steps up preparations for 2019 IAAF World Championships

DOHA, September 25, 2018-Doha is preparing to stage a spectacular IAAF World Championships next year, when it will become the first city in the Middle East to host athletics' premier showcase event.A large team of IAAF event and technical experts has spent the last two days conducting an extensive site visit with the Doha 2019 Local Organising Committee, part of the process of coordination that precedes every major championships. IAAF Vice President DahlanAl Hamad, who is also the Vice-Chairman and Director-General of the Local Organising Committee, said that with little more than one year to go to the opening day of the championships, he was confident that Doha would be ready to host the athletes of the world.“Our airport and hotels are ready, our stadium is ready, our ticket programme and brand will be revealed when we celebrate One Year to Go on Thursday (September 27),'' he said. “All the big pieces are in place. Our task over the next year is to link all the pieces together as we prepare to stage an innovative and exciting event that will engage athletics fans both near and far."The highlight of the visit was the demonstration of the world-first air-conditioning system that will keep Khalifa International Stadium at a comfortable temperature for athletes, officials and fans, protecting all from Qatar's desert climate.IAAF Council member Geoff Gardner, who led the federation's team, said everyone was impressed by the effectiveness of the stadium cooling system.“I don't know if the rest of the world really believed this was possible but it's an amazing system and it shows that our championships can be conducted here in a good environment for the athletes,'' he said.“There are always challenges preparing for a major event like this but if the Doha LOC rises to all those challenges as it has to this one, then our event is in safe hands. “We have made good progress in our planning over the weekend. One of the goals was to forge closer relationships between key personnel at the LOC and the IAAF because that united team will form the foundation for a successful championships in just over a year's time."National team leaders from some 30 countries have now arrived in Doha to conduct their own inspection of competition and training venues, hotels and logistical plans.On Thursday, the LOC will release details of the ticketing programme and launch the event logo and branding to celebrate One Year to Go to the 2019 IAAF World Championships.There will be a series of milestones for the Doha organisers over the coming months, including a test of the lighting for the marathon course in October, the World Broadcasters Meeting and Press Agencies Meeting in November, The Asian Athletics Championships next April, which will serve as a full test event for the championships as they will be held in the Khalifa Stadium, and the annual Diamond League meeting in MayQatar has an extensive history as a host of international athletics events, from the first ever IAAF Grand Prix in 1997 to the Doha Diamond League over the last nine years, and the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The 2019 IAAF World Championships will be held from September 27 to October 6 in Doha, Qatar.

El Shorbagy leads top players at Qatar Classic

DOHA, September 26, 2018-Three-time winner Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt will be leading a star cast of the world's top players as they descend on the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from October 27 to November 2 for the Qatar Classic 2018, the 16th edition of the annual tournament.About 50 players, including the world's top 30, will continue their battle for points on the PSA World Series Standings at the $177,750 total prize money tournament considered to be one of the richest in the series.Defending champion El Shorbagy won the tournament for the third time in his career last year courtesy of a 3-1 win over Tarek Momen, his compatriot and surprise finalist.The 27-year-old Egyptian will no doubt have a real battle in his hands in his quest for a successful defence of the title as he squares up against the likes of compatriots Ali Farag, Marwan ElShorbagy, Tarek Momen, Germany's Simon Rosner, Colombia's Miguel Angel Rodriguez and the player he defeated in last year's semis, Gregory Gaultier of France, and others.Qatar's challenge will be led by Abdullah Mohamed al-Tamimi, the world No. 28, who broke into the world's top 30 rankings after his remarkable victory at the $35,000 Malaysian Open title in July.The 23-year-old will be joined by compatriots Syed Azlan Amjad (146 ranked) and Abdulrahman al-Malki (ranked 242) in their quests to bring glory to Qatar. The duo are wild card entries for the tournament.England's Peter Nicol secured the tournament's first title in 2001 after defeating Australia's David Palmer in the final. He thereafter repeated the same feat the following year against the same opponent.Former World No.1s Lee Beachill and James Willstrop kept the title in English hands either side of a short break in 2004 while the World Championship was held in Qatar, before Egyptian trio Ramy Ashour, Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish took up the mantle of the Qatar Classic champion over the next three tournaments.Tournament Director Tareq Zainal said, “Once again, we are proud to host the world's top players in Doha. It has always been our tradition to organise a tournament whose memories will linger on for a long time in the minds of all participants. And this year's edition is not an exception. Squash is growing in leaps and bounds in Qatar and we are proud of what we've been able to achieve over the years. All hands are definitely on deck to ensure the best tournament ever."

Qatar defeat KSA in Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships

BANGKOK, September 26, 2018- Qatar's beach volleyball team including Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse began their campaign at the 2018 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships with victory over KSA on Tuesday.The Qatari duo who claimed gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, remained in irresistible form in Pool B when they beat KSA's Mahmoud Ali and Alkhawaher Dhia in comfortable straight sets 21-12, 21-14.The formidable Qataris later repeated the similar feat over Kingsley Tay Z. H. K./Shen Fan Yang as they thrashed the Singaporean pair 2-0 (21-15, 21-11).“First of all, thanks God that we won. The weather condition is not easy to play two games in one day as it is quite windy here. It is really great that we won two games in a row, but we still have not showed our best level. To win the tournament, we still have many tough games coming. Against Oman tomorrow, we will try to beat them to capture the top spot in our pool," Charif said.

13 athletes to represent Qatar in Asian Para Games

DOHA, September 24, 2018- The Qatar Paralympic Committee announced the Qatari delegation to participate in the 2018 Asian Para Games to begin in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 06. The state of Qatar will participate in athletics and goalball competitions. Qatar's goalball squad includes Mohammad Hamam Al Mohammad, Mohammad Al Kahalout, Abbad Waleed Al Shamali, Ikrami Murad, Hassan Al Kohaji and Abdulhadi Al Marri. In Athletics competitions, the state of Qatar will be represented by Abdullah Abdulqader Nasser al Sahouti, Khalid Al Hajri, Debais Al Dosari, Mohammad Al Abd, Mohammad Rahsed Al Kebaisi and Sarah Masoud. The Qatari delegation will fly to Jakarta on October 01.

Organising committee of artistic gymnastics worlds holds a promotional event

DOHA, September 24, 2018-A promotional gymnastics-themed event conducted at Mall of Qatar by the Organising Committee (OC) of the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 got a huge public response with trampoline and floor exercises by gymnasts attracting big applause and loud cheers.The event was held in the presence of the Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) President Ali Al Hitmi, who is also the Executive Director and Tournament Manager of the Organising Committee; Abeer Al Buainain, Director of Operations, Planning & Human Resources, and Maryam Al Mahmoud, Director of Marketing and Communication, as part of preparations for the world championships to be held at Aspire Dome from October 25 to November 3.Impressed by the show and public participation, Al Hitmi said: “We are very pleased with what we have seen from the great public turn-out. The performance included special offers that made the public know more about gymnastics. We are inviting the audiences to attend the world championships at Aspire to see the elite global stars compete and dazzle.“The turn-out of people and the intensity seen here to watch gymnastics is a positive indicator that a large number of people are keen to watch the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2018," he added.Marketing Director Maryam Al Mahmoud said that the continuous success of the promotional events for the first mega gymnastics event in Qatar and the Middle East also reflects the organisational success and keenness of the Organising Committee to prepare for the championships in the best possible way.“We have been keen on making promotional offers to the public in order to give them the opportunity to see the world championships for gymnastics. The event turned out to be popular and the response was great. We are encouraged to find more such programmes and offers given the demand to repeat the same success," said Maryam.“We have seen that there is a lot of interest in the activities that have been undertaken by Qatar gymnasts between the ages of 6 and 12 as a large number of the public have participated in these shows.“There will be more such public competitions and the prizes will be free tickets for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018. Tickets will also be offered to children through various schools and embassies in Doha," added Maryam. “Meanwhile those wanting to purchase tickets for the worlds can do so from the Virgin and/or the official website."The OC of world gymnastics is also keen on creating a fan zone to run throughout the tournament. The zone will also include a variety of restaurants catering various cuisines to suit the tastes of fans from all over the world.Giving details, Maryam said: “The world gymnastics will see more than 700 players from close to 85 countries, and this leads us to provide restaurants and cafes to suit all tastes. There will also be sale of clothing and sports equipment at the fan zone.“The hosting of this edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 is a challenge for us to emphasise Qatar's image and the country's organisational abilities which already has a global reputation," she stressed.“We aspire to provide unprecedented hospitality that shall assure the whole world that Qatar is strong in hosting major sports events, and that it has the best image at all levels. We promise the Qatari fans and visitors from all over the world to provide a distinctive championship with fun activities," she added.