Goalball team finish fifth in Czech Open Tournament

DOHA, May 16 , 2018-Qatar goalball team clinched the fifth place overall in the prestigious Czech Open Tournament which concluded on Tuesday.The Qatar squad included players ; Mohammad Hammam, Mohammad Al Kahalout, Hassan Al Kohagi, Abdulhadi Al Marri, Ahmad Ekrami and Abbad Al Shamali.The tournament brought together players affiliating to prominent European, Arab and Asian teams.

Al Sadd book spot in AFC Champions League quarterfinals

DOHA, May 15, 2018 - Two goals from Baghdad Bounedjah helped Al Sadd snatch a 2-2 draw away to Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the second leg of their 2018 AFC Champions League Round of 16 clash in Jeddah on Thursday.The draw was enough to give the Qatari side a 4-3 aggregate win and a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014. Just like in the first leg, Al Sadd seized the initiative early on. The 2011 champions found the back of the net inside two minutes, with tournament top scorer Bounedjah dribbling into the box from the left before lashing in a fierce strike past Al Ahli keeper Mohamed Al-Owais.The visitors' delight did not last long as Al Ahli equalised in the ninth minute through Claudemir. The Brazilian midfielder was in the right place in the right time to nod home a header to make it 1-1 on the night.Al Ahli went on to score another goal and it came just before halftime, when Mohannad Aseri capitalised on Abdelkarim Hassan's failure to clear the ball and tapped in from close range to level the aggregate scores in the 39th minute.The goal strengthened the home side's determination and Fathi Jebali's men went in search of a goal to put them in the lead in the second half. Aseri came close in the 62nd minute, getting to the end of Abdulfattah Asiri's cross before somehow miscuing his shot from a couple of yards out.In the 69th minute, the complexion of the match changed dramatically after the referee awarded a penalty to Al Sadd when Hamid Ismail was brought down in the box by Claudemir.Al-Owais blocked Bounedjah's initial effort but the Algerian made no mistake with the rebound to score his ninth goal of the campaign and send his side through to the quarter-finals.Al Sadd had never failed to qualify to the next round in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League after avoiding defeat in the first leg of the tie, and they kept that record intact yesterday.But the match at King Abdullah Stadium was a feisty one with raucous local crowd rallying around the home team. While a victory eluded them, they ensured Al Ahli have only lost one of their eight home games against Qatari sides in the Champions League.In Tehran, Seyed Jalal Hosseini's 89th minute strike gave hosts Persepolis a 2-1 win over UAE's Al Jazira in the second leg. Persepolis advanced to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.Al Jazira survived 45 minutes of one-way traffic as Persepolis set up shop at their visitors' end of the pitch in pursuit of an early leveller. Despite the pressure, the Iranians could only muster a weak header from Siamak Nemati that was saved by goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and an effort from Farshad Ahmadzadeh that missed the target by a small margin as the two sides headed into the break level.The home side finally found a breakthrough in the 63rd minute after a well-worked attacking move saw Ahmadzadeh lay-off a pass for Ahmad Nourollahi who struck with venom from 25 yards out into the top corner to put Persepolis in front.Al Jazira boss Henk ten Cate responded to going behind by introducing striker Ahmed Al Hashmi for defender Mohammed Fawzi, and his attacking intent immediately paid dividends when Al Hashmi combined with Ali Mabkhout inside Persepolis' half before setting up Romarinho, who drilled in a shot from outside the area into the bottom corner to restore Al Jazira's aggregate lead in the 70th minute.Persepolis piled the pressure for the remainder of the game, but all their attempts to find a winner were halted by an inspired Khaseif who denied Godwin Mensha and Ali Alipour back-to-back headers inside the final 10 minutes.As the strikers failed to find a winner, it was skipper Hosseini who delivered, pouncing on a poor defensive clearance from Musallem Fayez to volley home the winner with a minute to play to send Persepolis into the quarter-finals.

Al-Arabi finish third in GCC Club Basketball Championship

OMAN, May 15, 2018 – Qatar's Al Arabi managed in the third place overall in the prestigious GCC Club Basketball Championship 2018 , following its comfortable 80-70 victory over Al Muharraq of Bahrain at Sultan Qaboos sports complex in Oman on Monday.UAE's Al Sharjah claimed the championship title, while Bahrain's Manama took the runner-up place.The championship brought together 7 clubs distributed into two groups, A includes Al-Arabi (Qatar), Al Etihad (KSA), Al Muharraq (Bahrain), while group B includes, Nizwa (Oman), Al Sharjah (UAE) and Manama ( Bahrain).The event is a qualifying tournament to the Asian Champions Cup will take place from 25-30 September, where the winners of the three top places will get spots in this continental event.

Qatar’s Al-Marri bags double trap bronze in Italy

DOHA, May 15, 2018 - Qatar's Hamad Al-Marri won bronze in the men's Double Trap at the Amir of Kuwait International Shooting Championship held at the Tiro a Volo Umbriaverde Shooting Range, in Massa Martana, Italy.Al-Marri, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medal winner, shot 136 to qualify for the finals behind leader and eventual winner Andrea Vescovi from Italy, the Rio Olympics silver medallist Italian Marco Innocenti and UAE's Khaled Al-Kaabi.In the finals, the Qatari kept his nerves to collect 56 for a third place finish. He missed out on the silver medal, which was won by al-Kaabi, just by a shot.Young Italian Vescovi, the 2014 World Junior Championship gold medallist, fired 58 to emerge as the champion.Out of 12 qualifiers, there were just three non-Italian shooters. Al-Marri was also involved in a marathon shoot-off with Italian Alessandro Chianese, the 2016 Nicosia World Cup and 2010 World Championship silver medallist, to decide the fourth best qualifier after both collected 136 each in the qualifying rounds. He got the better of him by 11-10.Al-Kaabi was edged by Innocenti for the second place but in the finals, did well to finish runner-up, while his rival could manage only the seventh spot.Al-Marri expressed his joy at winning third place in the tough competition.“I felt the pressure from other shooters as the event progressed. But the confidence gained in various competitions at the Losail Ranges helped me a lot in dealing with the situation," Al-Marri said.“I'm very happy to get the third place out of 78 shooters in the event. I cleared round after round. I hope to continue this kind of performance and bring more successes home," he said.Qatar Shooting and Archery Association president Ali Mohamed al-Kuwari congratulated A-Marri and the team for the success.“We're proud of what Hamad achieved in the Amir Cup in Italy. We'll continue our tough and highly technical training programme to raise the level of our shooters in international events. The coming months are going to be very crucial for the Qatari shooters and we're aiming to gain maximum possible slots for the Tokyo Games in 2020," he said.

Qatar team ready for Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship

​DOHA, May 15 , 2018 - The Asian Handball Federation announced the match schedule of the the 2018 Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship which will take place in Salalah city, Oman.Qatar team will begin campaign in the prestigious against Syria on July 17 , then will lock horns against Palestine on July 17 and will conclude their participation against Iraq on July 18.The championship also serves as a qualifying tournament for the IHF Junior World Championship 2019.

Al Sadd face uphill task against Al Ahli in last 16

DOHA, May 14, 2018 - Al Sadd face a tricky away encounter in Jeddah as they take on Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 match on Monday. The Qatari side won the first leg 2-1 last Monday in Doha, but also conceded an away goal which could prove costly for them. The return leg will be played at King Abdullah Sports City and Sadd will have an uphill task to defend their one-goal lead.Boualem Khoukhi netted twice in the opening 30 minutes to give Al Sadd a 2-0 lead at the interval last Monday, but Mohannad Aseri pulled one back just after the restart with a goal to ensure a nervy affair in Jeddah. Al Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira was frustrated with the result at home and said it will be a difficult to match in Jeddah.“This is not a good result. Al Ahli will be tough to play against in front of their fans, especially as they need just one goal to qualify. This is a tough for us and I am very disappointed," said Ferreira.The Portuguese manager has plenty of experience of knockout football with European giants Benfica and Porto and he feels his side missed a trick in not putting the tie to bed.Ferreira will be hoping his men can play without any fear in a stadium which is expected to be full packed in support of the home team. Sadd will welcome Pedro Correia to the starting XI after the defender sat out the first leg due to suspension. Ferreira believes Pedro's return will fill out the defensive loopholes that were exposed by Al Ahli. The Saudi team created 16 chances in the first leg, but managed only to convert one.“We did not defend well. Pedro's return will be a good thing for us in the away game. I am not pessimistic, I'm realistic. The game in Jeddah is going to be extremely difficult," said Ferreira.Sadd's fortunes will heavily depend on the performance of legendary midfielder Xavi. The former Barcelona star completed 64 successful passes, the highest number in the first leg and will have to marshal the midfield once again. Sadd faced little trouble qualifying to the knockout stages from Group C but were pipped to the top spot by Persepolis. Al Ahli, meanwhile, were unbeaten as they won four and drew two matches to qualify. It promises to be an enthralling affair.Sadd are targeting a first last-eight appearance since 2014and remain the last team from West Asia to lift the continental title, when they were crowned champions in 2011. The Qatari side's domestic campaign came to a close over the weekend following a 0-1 defeat to Al Duhail in the Amir Cup semi-final to mean the AFC Champions League remains their last hope of rounding of their season with silverware.Al Ahli, who welcome Salman Muwashar back from suspension, are aiming to advance to a second successive quarter-final. The Saudi side's best performance on the continent remains a runners-up finish in 2012. The hosts caretaker coach Fathi al-Jabal said: “We achieved our first objective of scoring a goal away from home. This could be of great importance in the return leg."“It was a tough game between two good teams but we conceded the two goals in the first half. We came back in the second but luck was not always on our side." Al Duhail in control Meanwhile, QNB Stars League champions Al Duhail have one foot in the quarter-finals after they defeated 2016 runner-up Al Ain 4-2 in the first leg. The second leg will be played at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha tomorrow, Djamel Belmadi favourites to progress to the next round, thanks to four away goals.Al Ain most likely have to post a three-goal winning margin in order to advance past a side who boast the best record on the continent in the 2018 campaign. Duhail have completed a domestic double by winning the league and Qatar Cup. And they are in for a treble by reaching the Amir's Cup final, beating Al Sadd in the semi-final.