Qatar beach team aim for strong start at Katara

DOHA, March 7, 2018 - Two of hosts Qatar's three pairs will start charting new life on the FIVB Beach World Tour through the prestigious four-star Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2018 starting on Wednesday at the scenic sandy beach at Katara.This is the first time that a four-star status event is being organised in the Middle East and Qatar has fielded a trio of Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan, Jefferson Santos Pereira & Julio Cesar do Nascimento and newcomers Benlouaer Ziad & Ahmed Ali Nassir – with an eye on the 2020 Olympic Games. The final of the event will be played on March 10.Earlier, Jefferson and Younousse were treated as the No. 1 team of Qatar. But towards the close last year, the Qatar Volleyball Association decided to change the top pair and replaced Jefferson with Tijan.Todate, Younousse and Tijan have already got the taste of two events on the World Tour after reuniting first time since the 2014 Doha Open, while Pereira and do Nascimento have yet to launch the New Year together. Both the Qatari teams appeared in the Palembong AVC Beach Tour Event in November last year in Thailand. Younousse and team bagged the title, while Pereira and do Nascimento finished third. Ahead of going for a practice session in Katara, Pereira said he was keen to have a strong start to the World Tour after the change in the team.“This is our first event together on the World Tour. After Julio joined me in the new team, it is indeed going to be a new experience for me and let us see how it goes." The two used to play together when they were young so Pereira doesn't forsee much problem in terms of adjustments.“When we were young, we played a lot of junior tournaments in Brazil together. We know each other well and have been sharing practice sessions for long. So I hope we should be able to find the necessary cohesion and unity required in the beach volleyball.“The Katara tournament is a big opportunity for all of us to showcase our talent and I'm confident that we'll will put up our best-ever show at the home event," he added. Pereira however feels that if he had started the World Tour a bit earlier, it would have given his team more competition time.“We're going to start the World Tour in the Katara tournament, while other teams have already got a head start on us by playing a couple of events. “We can't afford to miss big events like four-star or five-star tournaments on the World Tour. There are lot of points at stake and the more you play, the chances are better to improve the rankings, which help you to get automatic spots in major events," Pereira added. Do Nascimento is the player to have teamed up with him.Earlier, Thiago Santos was the partner with him from December 2013 to November 2014. Younousse then played along side with him. Assam Ahmed Mahmoud figured in just one event with Pereira before Younousse returned to pair up with him again.Both Pereira and Younousse had indeed formed a potential combo. Besides clinching the three-star Kish Island Open in 2016, they figured in two World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Three years ago in the Netherlands worlds, they had amazed the entire beach volleyball community and narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot.Then in the Rio Olympics, Pereira and Younousse earned a creditable ninth place. Last year, they were on the way to forming a dangerous duo, finishing ninth in four World Tour events in a row, including the five-star Gstaad Open and the Vienna worlds.With a new test coming up at home, Pereira and do Nascimento would be more than keen to give it a good shot and make up for the lost time on the Tour.

QOC to mark International Women’s Day

DOHA, March 7, 2018-Six inspirational individuals will be sharing their incredible stories of achieving success in women's sport and health in a panel session open to all on Thursday 8th March. This will be immediately followed by sporting activities led by Qatar's leading health and lifestyle professionals for female guests of all ages and abilities. Both activities are free to attend and no registration is necessary.Organised by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) in collaboration with the Aspire Zone, the event aims to highlight and celebrate the extraordinary women in Qatar who are breaking down barriers and changing perceptions of women in sport in honour of International Women's Day 2018. The event will provide an opportunity to create a conversation about what more can be done to inspire and empower more females to achieve their sporting dreams, whilst encouraging more females to live healthy and active lifestyles through the free sporting activities on offer.Commenting on the event, Sheikha Asma Al Thani, panelist and Director of Marketing and Communications at the Qatar Olympic Committee, said:“International Women's Day is a chance to shine a spotlight on the incredible achievements of women in Qatar and around the world so that more women are inspired and empowered to achieve their dreams. The QOC is organising this event not only to celebrate our successful women in sport and health but also to create a conversation about what we can all be doing as a society to further support the participation of more women in sport at any and every level. We invite everyone, men and women, to come down and participate in what we hope will be a fascinating and inspirational session."In addition to her role at the QOC, Sheikha Asma will later this month attempt to be the first Qatari to ski to the last degree of the North Pole as part of an international team of women from Western and Arabian cultures. The expedition aims to foster greater dialogue and understanding and inspire all women to reach beyond the expectation of others and fulfil their own ultimate life ambitions. Sheikha Asma will be joined on the panel by Youth Activist at Education Above All and Education Excellence Award winner Dana Al Anazy, who together with Sheikha Asma became one of the first Qatari females to summit Mount Kiliminjaro in 2014. Also participating will be entrepreneur Jawaher Al Fardan, who co-founded Qatar's first-ever vegan café and first-ever Qatari-owned yoga studio, swimmer Nada Mohamed, who is the first Qatari female to compete at two Olympic Games , Mariam Farid, 2019 IAAF World Championships Ambassador and a member of Qatar's national athletics team and Suhail Choukou from the Qatar Paralympic Committee who closely supported Qatar's first-ever global medallist Sara Masoud, who won para-athletics silver medals in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and London 2017 World Championships.The event's theme, 'Challenging Beyond Expectation' was inspired by the powerful women in Qatar that are motivating others, changing perceptions and are united to make a change and go beyond what they previously thought possible. Men also are welcomed to the panel session to create a united front in supporting gender inclusivity and women's equality in sport.International Women's Day takes place annually on March 8th and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.Following the panel session, professional Lifestyle Coach Carla Mantoani and professional Personal Trainer Althia Malliaros will join Jawaher Al Fardan in leading sporting activities, including cycling, yoga, boxing and more, and providing advice and guidance. The event aims to support more women across Qatar lead healthy and active lifestyles, whilst increasing their confidence and raising awareness about the opportunities available to participate. The session is for women only and it's is free of charge.Guests are requested to arrive to Al Shulaa Hall in the Aspire Zone across from Villaggio Mall at 5:45pm on Thursday 8 March 2018 for the the panel session. Sporting activities will begin immediately afterwards at 7:15pm.You can keep up to date with all news and information on the event and activities on the Team Qatar social media channels, as well as by signing up to the Team Qatar Club, where you will also have access to exclusive content, offers and competitions. It is free and easy to sign up – just head to www.olympic.qa/en/teamqatarclub.

Qatar defeat Pakistan in Junior Davis Cup Pre-Qualifying

Colombo, March 7, 2018-Qatar junior tennis team began their campaign in the 2018 Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying event of Junior Davis Cup with a 2-1 victory over Pakistan on Tuesday. The Pre-Qualifying Event is held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.Qatar's Ibrahim Al Sulaiti suffered a defeat in the opening singles match but his compatriot Rashed Nawaf equalized in the second match. In the double match, the Qatari duo of Rashed Nawaf and Nasser Al Yafei secured a 2-1 victory for Qatar over Pakistan. Qatar will take on Philippines in the next match. Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Rashed Nawaf, Nasser Al Yafei are representing the state of Qatar in the event. Ahmad Al Obaidli chairs the Qatari delegation to the tournament.Qatar were drawn play in group (A) alongside Pakistan and Philippines while Group B includes Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka will play in group (C).As per the ITF rules, two teams will cruise to the Asia Oceania qualifying event to be staged in Thailand later this month.

Curtains come down on SOP Shooting Competitions

DOHA, March 7, 2018- The shooting competitions for girls schools at the 11th edition of Schools Olympic Program (SOP) came to an end at Lusail Shooting Range on Tuesday. Lulwa Al Marri, Chairperson of the Qatar Women's Sport Committee honored the winners. In attendance was Al Anud Al Naimi. In 10m Air Rifle Event for girls preparatory schools, Maha Al Saba from Ruqaya School claimed the first place ahead of Aysha Al Mohannadi from Al Khor School in the second place while Shahd Al Yafai finished third. In Primary Schools event, Nour Al Mohannadi from Al Khor School led the standings. Hour Tayeb from Umm Ayman School took the silver medal while Mai Al Mohannadi from Al Khor School clinched the bronze medal. Nour Tayeb claimed the gold medal of 10m Air Pistol event for Preparatory Schools. Maryam Al Yazidi and Hanan Al Abdullah occupied the second and third places respectively. In Secondary Schools event, Zainab Tayeb grabbed the gold medal. Fatima Al Saadi from Nour Al Khaleej School took the second place and Mounira from Aysha bint Abi Bakr School finished third.

Qatar cruise to semifinals of Junior Davis Cup Pre-Qualifying

Colombo, March 8, 2018-Qatar's junior tennis team qualified to the semifinals of the 2018 Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying event of Junior Davis Cup being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.The Qatari team secured their place in the semifinals after beating Philippines 2-1 on Wednesday.The Qatari team began their campaign in the event with a 2-1 victory over Pakistan on Tuesday.Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Rashed Nawaf, Nasser Al Yafei are representing the state of Qatar in the event. Ahmad Al Obaidli chairs the Qatari delegation to the tournament.Qatar were drawn play in group (A) alongside Pakistan and Philippines while Group B includes Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka are playing in group (C).As per the ITF rules, two teams will cruise to the Asia Oceania qualifying event to be staged in Thailand later this month.

Main draw of ITTF Qatar Open to begin on Thursday

​DOHA, March 8, 2018-Sixteen players qualified for the main draw of the 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open on Wednesday and will join seeded players.The main draw of the Men's and Women's Singles begins on Thursday.In all, the top-16 players gained automatic qualifications based on the new classification system adopted by the International Table Tennis Association (ITFF) for the first time, which is aimed at increasing competition and providing opportunity for the least-rated players to compete with the world champions.The seeded players include newly-crowned World No. 1 Timo Boll of Germany, China's Fan Zhendong, Japan's John Mizutani, European champions Marcos Freitas, Qatar's Li Peng and Egypt's Omar Assar.Ping will begin his quest for the title with a clash against Jonathan Groth of Denmark while Zhendong faces Japan's Maharu Yoshimura in the other clash of the day.For Boll, his first encounter will be against Chinese Taipei's Yin-Ju Lu as Freitas takes on Ukraine's Lei Kou.In the Men's event, Italy's Mihai Bobocica beat Germany's Ricardo Walther 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10 to qualify for the main round while Portugal's Tiago Apolonia overcame Japan's Kazuhiro Yoshimura in an equally close duel (11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 2-11, 11-13, 2-11, 11-8).South Korea's, Jang Woojin ended the hopes of England's Sam Walker (12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 12-14, 11-6).Sathiyan Gnanasekaran of India made the final cut while his compatriots Harmeet Desai, Soumyajit Ghosh, and Sanil Shetty fell by the wayside. Gnanaskaran topped his group.However, later in the day, it was better news for India in the Women's section as Banika Batra beat Canada's Zhang Mo in a gruelling seven-game contest (8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 13-15, 11-7).Meanwhile China's Fei Xue emerged champion of the Men's U-21 Singles after defeating Hong Kong's Nam Pak Ng 3-0 (11-8,11-9,11-7) while the women's event was won by another Chinese Rui Zhang who defeated her compatriot Ke Chen 3-1 (11-7,11-4,9-11, 11-7).