Al-Gharafa qualify to Arab Handball Championship final

TUNISIA, March 24, 2018 – Qatar's Al Gharafa qualified to the final match of the prestigious 14th Arab Club Handball Championship after beating Sakiet Ezzit of Tunisia 26-23 in the semifinals match held in Sfax , Tunisia on Friday. Al Gharafa showed a widely-praised performance to finish the first half 16-9, then they continued their dominance in the second half to secure their spot in the final match. The final match will be staged on Sunday where Al Gharafa will take on Al Ettihad of Libya who edged past Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the second semifinals clash on Friday.

Qatar to take on Syria in International Friendship Championship

Basra, March 24, 2018-Qatar will have to be at their best if they are to wrap up the International Friendship Championship title in Basra when they take on Syria in their second and last match of the tournament today.Having already beaten Iraq in the opening match, a second straight win in the three-nation event will give Qatar an insurmountable six points.That will mean Iraq and Syria will battle it out on Tuesday for the second place in the final match of the tournament which was put in place after the FIFA ban on Iraqi cities hosting international matches was lifted.Qatar coach Felix Sanchez expressed his admiration for the Syrian team who won the hearts of fans with their inspiring displays during the qualifying stages of the World Cup, eventually falling agonisingly short of the target.“Syria no doubt is an outstanding team and we will have to be at our best to beat them," Sanchez told reporters at a press conference yesterday.“They have a new coach (Bernd Stange) who will be keen to make an impression with the team. Also they have some strong players who can be a threat to any team," he noted.Qatar and Syria clashed twice during the qualifying phases of this year's World Cup in Russia with each team winning a game.Stange, 70, who came out of retirement in January to take charge of Syria, has coached East Germany, Oman, Iraq, Singapore and Belarus in addition to several club teams during his long career.“I have seen Syria perform in the past but it remains to be seen what changes Stange makes to their style of play," said Sanchez.The Spaniard added that he used yesterday's training session to assess the fitness of the players to ensure that the best eleven get to start the match.“I also emphasised to the players the importance of avoiding the mistakes we made during the match against Iraq," he said, referring to the first match which Qatar won 3-2.Sanchez added that he had complete confidence in his team.“All the players in the Qatar team are very competitive. They don't like to lose. They are aware of their duties and responsibilities as they proved against Iraq in the first match."Sanchez was also impressed by the atmosphere in Basra.“Ever since we landed here I've seen only positive things. The atmosphere has been fantastic and people are very passionate about football. The organisers made sure we are comfortable at every stage of our stay here."Syria coach Stange predicted an “enjoyable" game although he rued the absence of several regular players because of injuries.“I cannot promise anything as I took charge only 10 days ago. I am still in the process of figuring out who our best players are but I am sure it will be an enjoyable match," the German said.Meanwhile, Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani attended the team's training session to boost the morale of the players.

Oksana defends Doha crown

Doha, March 24, 2018- At 42, she is as robust, brisk and energetic as any top young athlete. Oksana Chusovitana is a wonder of gymnastics world and in Doha she has made a habit of winning gold medals.As the two-day finals of the FIG Artistic Individual World Cup begun yesterday, the Uzbek veteran stole the limelight in front of a packed crowd at Aspire Dome by defending her vault title, after an improved show than the last year.In the 2017 edition, Oksana bagged 14.166 points to win the final and yesterday, the oldest among the Olympians in the sport, upped the ante to collect 14.433 to take gold medal.She showed no signs that she is in the business for more than a quarter century, displaying flawless performance to outshine 17-year-old Pyon Rye Yong (PRK) who claimed the silver medal with 14.383 points. Coline Devillard of France took bronze medals after a tally of 13.949 points. “It feels great to win in Doha. I love to be crowned here in front of these fans who like gymnastics," Oksana told reporters after the final, adding that she was looking forward to come back to Qatar, which will host the World Gymnastics Championships later this year.“I am enjoying gymnastics and I am fit. Definitely, I will like to return to win more gold medals at my favourite venue. The organisation here is great," she added. In other final featuring women gymnasts, Belgium's Derwael Nina put up a dominating performance for a gold medal in uneven bars. She looked in top form grabbing 15.300 showing top class skills.Russia's Uliana Perebinosova came second for a silver while French gymnast De Jesus dos Santos, who topped the qualifying round, had to content with a bronze medal.Chinese gymnast Zou Jingyuan won the men's pommel horse title, finishing the competition with 15.100 points, ahead of Lee Chih Kai (Chinese Taipei) and Alec Yoder (USA) who took silver and bronze medals respectively. Russia's Lankin Dmitrii reigned supreme in men's floor exercise final to win his maiden gold medal in the competition with 14.733 points. There were cheers for Filipino spectators too with Yulo Carlos Edriel displaying an impressive show to take silver medal. Japan's Kato Ryohei ended up with a bronze medal after accumulating 14.200 points. In the last men's final of the day, Ukraine's Olympic medallist Igor Radivilov excelled to top the men's rings final, compiling 15.266 points. Promising Turkish gymnast Colak Ibrahim was close to the Ukrainian finishing his attempts collecting 15.000 points to win the silver medal. Jingyuan secured his second medal of the day by finishing third with 14.966 points.Today, the last of four-day annual event, the finals of men's vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars will be held while women gymnasts will compete for gold medals in balance beam and floor exercise.

Qatar, Syria play to draw in International Friendship Championship

Basra, March 25, 2018-Qatar played out an exciting 2-2 draw with Syria in their second match in the International Friendship Championship at Basra Sport City Stadium in Iraq on Saturday.The result meant Qatar, coached by Felix Sanchez, can win the title if Iraq beat or hold Syria on Tuesday. Syria need a victory by a two-goal margin to emerge as champions while Iraq's hopes are over in the tournament organised to celebrate after FIFA lifted the long-standing ban on the country hosting international matches.Qatar were definitely the better of the sides in the first half, but they could not test Syrian goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma.At the other end, Syria drew a couple of saves from Mohammed Al Bakri, who came in place of Saad Al Sheeb, through Firas Al Khatib.Al Khatib's left-footed volley in the 24th minute was tipped over by Al Bakri, who did well again in the 38th to parry a difficult shot from the same player.However, the young Qatari keeper found himself in no man's land when Omar Al Somah ran down Mohammed Alaaeldin's intended back pass and rounded him before slotting the ball into an empty net.The goal rattled Qatar who struggled defensively for a brief period, but they regained their composure and came back strongly through Abdulaziz Hatem.Hatem had tested Al Bakri with a fierce left-footer in the 56th minute, which the goalkeeper saved with some difficulty, but there was no stopping him two minutes later when he met Abdulkarim Hassan's cutback into the edge of the area with a sweetly-timed left-footer.Qatar had the momentum and soon had another big chance as Almoez Ali cut through Syria defence with ease, but Hatem, for once failed to pull the trigger on time and the opportunity was lost.Abdulkarim then showed his attacking instinct when he laid a perfectly waited pass for Akram Afif and the two-goal hero against Iraq took his chance well, placing his left-footer just inside the far post in the 71st.The joy was short lived as Syria scored an almost identical goal, through Zahir Al Midani, a minute later.The match turned a bit rough after that and even though Qatar continued to enjoy a slight they could not breach the Syrian defence.

QOC organizes 2018 Telematch Championship

​DOHA, March 25, 2018 - The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) organized the 2018 Telematch Championship on Friday, March 23 at its annual winter at Sealine resort.The QOC Telematch Championship brought together six teams including; Stars, Ahmad bin Mohammad School, Back Super, Doha Fighters and Tigers.Ahmad bin Ahmad School claimed the first place ahead of Stars in the second place while Back Super finished third.Nasser Al Madahka, Head of Sport Development and Community Affairs Section, Rashid Adiba, Head of Athlete Development and Technical Staff Unit and Abdulaziz Al Ghanim, Head of Community Sports Unit crowned the winners.Nasser Al Madahka stressed that the QOC organizes the championship annually in an attempt to encourage the engagement of local community in various life activities including cultural and sport events.The Winter Camp contains a multitude of activities including beach volleyball, football and basketball areas, a laser field, a kids' zone with inflatable slides, swings and games as well as pony rides. There is also an arcade dome with table tennis, billiards, video games and a food and beverage area for guests to re-energise and relax.

Curtains come down on 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup

​DOHA, March 25, 2018-Three gold medallists emerged in a thrilling finish in the women's floor title at the 11th FIG Artistic Individual Apparatus World Cup Aspire Dome on Saturday.Axelle Klinckaert of Belgium, Elisa Meneghini of Italy and North Korea's Kim Su Jong each scored 13.333 in the final. The trio shared the podium with their gold medals as there was no silver or bronze medals awarded. Italy's Lara Mori finished fourth with 13.266 points.Zou Jingyuan of China saved the best on the final day when he not only won the men's parallel bar gold, but also pipped All-Around world champion and compatriot Xiao Routeng to second place. It was his second gold as he followed a pommel horse win on Thursday and picked a bronze in rings.The 20-year old won in a Chinese 1-2 with a score of 16.200 easily beating teammate Xiao Ruoteng's total of 15.233. He had won the title in the same apparatus at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, last year.Turkey's Ferhat Arican took another bronze medal with 15.166.But Xiao, who was not in his best elements in Doha, had a bad fall in the evening's last event -- horizontal bar to end up eighth.Croatian Tin Srbic bagged the title (14.800) followed by USA's Marvin Kimble (14.533) and China's Deng Shudi (14.500).Meanwhile, Igor Radivilov picked up his second gold in as many events at the Doha event.The 25-year-old, who became Ukraine's first medal-winner at the 2012 Olympics after the fall of the mighty Soviet Union, collected 14.599 points for his effort."It was quite satisfying to win two gold medals here in my maiden visit. I'm happy with my performances," Radivilov said.China's Qu Ruiyang almost challenged the Ukrainian, but had to be content with silver (14.566) while Ferhat finished third (14.533).In the women's competition, France made it one-two when Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (13.933) and Marine Boyer (13.466) won the gold and silver in the balance beam final.Belgium's Nina Derwael, who won the uneven bars on Friday, came third (13.400).The floor exercise was intensely competed and was shared by Belgium's Axelle Klinckaert, Italy's Elisa Meneghini and People Republic of Korea's Kim Su Jong after all three finished on an identical 13.333 points.The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary-General Jassim al-Buenain highlighted the success of the event in its 11th edition.The QOC Secretary-General stressed that the event featured the participation of gymnasts from 39 countries.