Spaniard Otaegui shines in Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

DOHA, February 24, 2018 - After missing the cut at the Doha Golf Club last year a second time in his three previous starts, Adrian Otaegui sent the Friday afternoon crowd into raptures as his 66 catapulted him to the top of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. On the first day, the 25-year-old Spaniard, rejuvenated by his best finish of the season so far in Oman last week, carded a five under. Today, he consolidated it further with a 66 to collect 11 under par total and gain the solo lead.Former Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher of Scotland and Erik van Rooyen of South Africa are one stroke behind the leader in a quartet, which includes overnight leaders Eddie Pepperell (England) and three time European Tour winner Gregory Havret (France).Another shot adrift is a bunch of five players American Sean Crocker, Englishman Olver Fisher, German Sebastian Heisele, South African George Coetzeen and Spanish Pablo Larrazabal. Two players carded the lowest score of the day. Wales' Jamie Donaldson and South African Zander Lombard punched 65 each but both ended with contrasting fortunes. While Donaldson's seven under par total easily carried him past the cut, Lombard totaled three under 141.Sharing the eighth place yesterday with a bogey-free 67, Otagui continued his strong run and added four more shots in the first 11 holes. The 2017 Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play winner dropped a shot on the 13th. However, determined to make up for it, he fired three birdies off the final three holes to post 66 and grab the lead. "I started nicely with a birdie at the first and then lots of pars, although I gave myself lots of chances. Then I had another birdie at the seventh, started well on the back nine at ten and then birdied 11 and dropped a shot at the 13th, but I played great after that and finished birdie-birdie-birdie, so I'm happy with my round," the Spaniard said.He added,"I'm really looking forward to the weekend now. I just wanted to stay patient hole after hole and we'll see what happens." The bright sunshine and gentle breeze made playing conditions conducive for low scores. As a result, the projected cut of minus 3 was revised to four under par the lowest in the tournament's history. Still defending champion Jeunghun Wang and European Tour leader Shubhanker Sharma were among notable players who failed to beat the cut. While the South Korean Jeunghun, who was four under on the first day, fell short of the target by three shots, Sharma played a par round with three birdies and as many bogeys to miss the mark by one his second in a row after Oman last week. Darren Fichardt, the winner in 2003, and Thomas Bjorn, the 2011 champion, also fell by the wayside. Darren Clarke, the former Major champion, was six over after two days and bowed out. Julian Suri, the highest world-ranked player in the field at 70, had a fine day but his second day 67 failed to make amends and he was also a big casualty. The former Major champion and Doha double winner Paul Lawrie was saved by his first day 68. He managed a par round today and extended his stay. In previous 19 appearances here, the 1999 Open Championship winner has made the cut 15 times, going on to grab the title in 1999 and 2012. Three Tour titles winner Edoardo Molinari played two over par today and the Italian's six under par 66 on Thursday helped him finish with four under 140 aggregate. He was not able to make the cut last year the third time in his previous five starts. His best finish in Doha has been 24th on his debut here in 2010.

Pleaseletmewin leads Ghazali treble Oman’s Meblsh dazzles in Gulf Cup

DOHA, February 24, 2018 - Pleaseletmewin made no such requests when he won a thriller of a Thoroughbred feature contest over a mile to cap a fantastic day for Jassim Mohamed Ghazali that saw the Champion Trainer pick up a hat-trick of wins on Day Two of HH The Emir's Sword Racing Festival at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) turf on Friday. In the penultimate race of the day, Gulf Cup, the Arabians feature of the day, Qatar-bred Meblsh sent his Omani owners and their massive contingent into a rapturous celebration as Almotasem al-Balushi rode as the six-year-old, son of the prolific sire Amer, displayed his blistering pace on the home straight going past almost half the field for a two-and-a-half-length victory. The Injaaz Stud-owned Pleasletmewin was a useful performer for Ralph Beckett in England with three wins, before moving to Qatar a year ago. Coming into yesterday's USD200,000 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup, a Group 2 race for three-year-olds and older horses, the gelding had seven top-four finishes in Qatar, including a course and distance victory in March last year. Martin Harley, who had earlier raced Pierre Deymonaz-schooled Ishfaq to his maiden victory in the second race of the day, timed his whip to perfection as he went past early leaders and Ghazali wards Third Dimension and Sir Guy Porteous coming off the final bend. Alexander Pietsch and German raider Diplomat made a move squeezing through the early leaders, while Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani's ward, Vitally Important, upped his pace on the outside. It was the latter, under Qatari jockey Faleh Bughanaim, who went neck and neck with Pleaseletmewin in the final few metres, before the Ghazali ward edged out for a win by a short head. “I am very happy today. When we had bought the horse for (£450,000), he had won a Group 3 in England. Today, Martin Harley rode a perfect race for him. You can't win this race if you don't have quality," Ghazali said after the race. “Yesterday (Thursday), I was under a lot of pressure; second, third, second third. But today, it was great," said Ghazali, who also had four top-three finishes besides the wins yesterday. “The pace was strong up front and he travelled very very good. He was with a good farm in the UK and the trainer here had obviously done a good job with him, he deserved to win a race like that. It was a late entry into the race but it seems like the right decision now," Harley, who would be riding for David O'Meara today in the Dukhan Sprint before teaming up with Ghazali again in HH The Emir's Shalfa, told Gulf Times. “A mile was a perfect trip for him, and when the pace was strong for him, it just made it all better." In one of the most exciting finishes, Ghazali and Champion Jockey Harry Bentley picked up their first victory of the day in the seven furlong Local Thoroughbred Trophy. Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari-owned Mosayter won the race for four-year-olds and older horses in thrilling fashion. Bentley took the inside line in his chase of Faleh Bughanaim-ridden Al Lusail, who had a slight advantage coming off the final bend. Half a furlong out, Bentley was neck and neck with the Qatari jockey, before edging out the latter by smallest of margins for a fantastic win. The second victory of the owner-trainer-jockey trio was much more comfortable, all credit to Caid De L'Ardus. Coming on to the home straight in the six-furlong Purebred Arabian Sprint Cup, Caid De L'Ardus surged forward to take the advantage and watching from the grandstand, Ghazali simply nodded in approval and clinched his first tight as the six-year-old picked up his 11th victory from 21 starts with two lengths and three quarters to spare. Trainers Deborah Mountain and Ibrahim al-Malki also had a winner each — Pier Convertino-ridden Black Orange won the six-furlong Thoroughbred Plate event for three-year-olds and Eduardo Pedroza helmed Mango Tango topped the mile-long Class 3 Thoroughbred contest for fillies and mares. Earlier in the day, Swiss rider Naomie Heller collected 20 points in the Fegentri Championship for Lady Riders when she guided Alban de Mieulle-trained Semaisima to her second career victory. Qatar's Khadija Abdulwahed guided Mohamed Nasser al-Naimi's ward, Saab, to fourth.

British duo sparkle in Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

DOHA, February 23, 2018 - It was an unusually calm day at the Doha Golf Club on Thursday. The trademark gusty winds, which have almost become synonymous with the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, stayed away. These are conditions most golfers like and the British duo of Eddie Pepperell and Aaron Rai and Frenchman Gregory Havret were the ones who made the most of them.The trio fired opening rounds of seven-under par 65 to share the lead at the end of the first round of the prestigious European Tour event.Former champion Alvaro Quiros from Spain, Italian Edoardo Molinari, German Marcel Schneider and England's Oliver Fisher were in second one shot off the pace.The Oxfordshire native Pepperell, who missed his first two cuts of the season but made the cut in Malaysia and Oman, started at the 10th yesterday and was four-under through his opening nine holes having seen five gains undone slightly by one bogey, and he picked up a further three shots on the way home.“I surprised myself out there today. It's been pretty nice on the range. I got some good shots today and I'm looking forward to the weekend but even more so moving forward to the rest of the season. I want to push forward and I just feel like my game has been hitting ceilings a bit. I want to break through that," the 27-year-old Pepperell said.Havret's round was more dramatic as he scored five birdies in six holes. He then went toe-to-toe, with Pepperell, who put an approach on the fifth to six feet and the Frenchman holed from eight feet after an excellent tee-shot on the par three 13th.“I was putting well and that's definitely the key," Havret, who has a 50 per cent success-rate from six cuts so far this season, said. “Last week I didn't play much different and I missed the cut by a lot." His smart approaches to the seventh and 16th respectively had the duo in the clubhouse where they were joined by Rai in style.Rai made an eagle at the last to join the leaders. He registered five birdies through 16 before finishing with a three at the par-five 18th, his completed his best round of the season. “I drove it well and then gave myself a lot of opportunities with the approach play, didn't miss too many greens," said Rai. “Gameplan-wise, you have to be doing something right and playing some good golf to shoot a 65 so I'll just continue in the same vein and try not to change too much," the 22-year-old said.Starting on the back nine, the leader of the 2018 Order of Merit Rankings, India's Shubhankar Sharma overcame a double bogey to post a three-under. Sharma had five birdies and was lying tied-38th. He began with birdie-birdie, but then a double-bogey on par-5 15th played spoilsport. He quickly recovered with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and the 17th.One more birdie against no bogeys on his second nine, which was the front side of the course, saw Shubhankar finish at 69. “I think it is not a bad round at all. I was not driving the ball well off the tee and had a lost ball on the 15th hole. My drive went to the right, hit the rocks and I could not find the ball," Sharma told Gulf Times.“After that I played well. My driving could have been better. Considering everything, I think it was a good round. The conditions were good and the key here is that you have to hit the fairways, which are very narrow. If you don't, there are not many opportunities then.“The minus three card on the first day is not a bad round. I need to work on my hitting tomorrow so that I can catch up with others," Sharma, who has won two titles so far, said. His compatriot SSP Chawrasia, who defends his Hero Indian Open title in just over two weeks from now, shot one-over 73 and was lying way down at tied-105th spot and in danger of missing the cut.The 1999 Open champion and two-time champion in Qatar Paul Lawrie is four under par, after round one. England's Chris Wood, who is 2013 champion, also finished on four under par, along with defending champion Jeunghun Wang of South Korea. Europe's Ryder Cup captain Tomas Bjorn opened with a three-over 75.Today's second-round action starts at 6.30am, with the last groups teeing off at 12.40pm.LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES65: Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Grégory Havret (FRA), Aaron Rai (ENG)66: Oliver Fisher (ENG), Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Marcel Schneider (GER), Alvaro Quiros (ESP)67: Detry Thomas (BEL), Sean Crocker (USA), Lorenzo Gagli (ITA), Joshua White (ENG), Sebastian Heisele (GER), Adrian Otaegui (ESP), Mikko Ilonen (FIN).

Curtains come down on Qatar Open Shotgun

DOHA, February 23, 2018 - With attendance of HE Jassim bin Rashid Al Boenain, the Secretary General of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) the prestigious Qatar Open Shotgun Championship was concluded at Losail Shooting Range on Thursday.Italian women dominated the Skeet event of the Qatar Open Shotgun championship as Chiara Cainero and Diana Bacosi won gold and bronze respectively.On the last day of the nine-day championship hosted by Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSSA), 39-year-old Cainero overcame stiff challenge of Lucie Anastassiou of France to collect the $7,000 cash prize.Beijing Olympic Games winner Cainero scored 52, one more than Anastassiou, the Rio games winner, in the final and clinched the top spot at the Losail Shooting Range. Bacosi of Italy took the bronze medal with a score of 43, while 2016 winner Amber Hill Great Britain finished fourth with 33 hits. Cainero was delighted to finish on the podium along with Bacosi.“It was difficult because of the wind, but I am happy to be in the final along with another Olympic champ and teammate (Bacosi) as we are used to finishing on the podium," she told Gulf Times.Incidentally at the last Olympic Games in the Brazilian city, the Italians made it 1-2 in the skeet event. The four-time Olympian also praised the facilities at Losail.“It is always a nice experience to start the season in Qatar. The facilities are excellent here. The Losail Shooting Range is same as any Olympic shooting ranges you will find in any part of the world. It is one of the best. We love to compete here and the weather here is fantastic as it is winter in Italy at this time of the year," Cainero, who has been a regular at the shot gun event, said.“I first took part in an event in 2006. I was very young at that time," she recalled.Cainero said she will be taking part in an event in South Korea and the victory here will serve as an ideal preparation of the season ahead. “I am happy with my form and the training we had here," she said.Anastassiou was very happy to finish on the podium with two Olympic champions. “The competition was tough and I am happy that I had the privilege to share the podium with two Olympic champions. I am glad." Hill, who was aiming to repeat her 2016 gold medal winning effort found the going tough.“It was a strong field with two Olympic champions. But I am happy with my performance. Although, I was aiming for a repeat of 2016, when I won the event, but overall I am happy with my performance and the result," said the 20-year-old.In the men's section, 26-year-old Jakub Tomacek of Czech Republic topped the Skeet event followed by Jesper Hansen of Denmark. The 2008 Olympic Games bronze medal winner Anthony Terras of France finished third. Qatar's Sheikh Mohamed al-Thani and Nasser al-Attiyah finished 12th and 25th respectively.In the men's junior section, Qatar's Abdulla Rashdan and Mohamed Ahmed al-Khulaifi finished one-two, with Lithuania's Tomas Vaitekunas winning bronze.In the women's junior section, Alisa Bogdanova of Lithuania won gold, while Britain's Madeleine Boyd and Qatar's Fatma al-Muraikhi claimed silver and bronze, respectively.RESULTS (top three)Women's Skeet1. Chiara Cainero (ITA) (23 24 25 23 25) 120+6 (Q) & 52 (Final)2. Lucie Anastassiou (FRA) (25 24 25 23 24) 121+4 & 513. Diana Bacosi (ITA) (25 24 25 24 20) 118 & 43Men's Skeet1. Jakub Tomacek (CZE) (25 25 24 24 24) 122+13 (Q) 54+6 (Final)2. Jesper Hansen (DEN) (24 25 25 25 25) 124 & 54+53. Anthony Terras (FRA) (25 24 25 24 24) 122+6 & 45Jr Men's Skeet1. Abdulla Rashdan (QAT) (22 22 24 22 23) 1132. Mohamed al-Khulaifi (QAT) (22 20 21 20 23) 1063. Tomas Vaitekunas (LTU) (22 20 18 21 19) 100Jr Women's Skeet1. Alisa Bogdanova (LTU) (23 23 21 22 23) 1122. Madeleine Boyd (GBR) (23 18 20 24 23) 1083. Fatma al-Muraikhi (QAT) (24 20 16 17 20) 97

Qatar beat Morocco in ISF World Schools Handball

DOHA, February 23, 2018 - Hosts Qatar began their ISF World Schools Handball Championship campaign in style with a thumping 39-12 win over Morocco on Thursday. At the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, Qatar dominated the game throughout and were runaway winners. Qatar is in Group A along with Denmark, Austria, Poland and Morocco. The home team's next match is against Poland on Friday.The championship formally began on Thursday morning at 10am in both boys and girls sections. The tournament for 16-18 year olds (born in 2000, 2001 and 2002) will run until next Wednesday (28 February). For the first time in 24 editions, the championship is taking place outside of Europe and the competition is set to be fierce with 19 girls and 18 boys teams from 21 countries across Africa, Asia, Pan America and Europe competing for glory.Morocco are the sole representative from Africa, while Brazil will fly the flag for Pan America. Hosts Qatar will represent Asia. Europe is the dominant continent with 18 countries travelling to Doha for the tournament, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey. The preliminary round matches will be held till Sunday, 25th February and sees both boys and girls competitions split over four groups each – Group A, B, C and D.The opening ceremony was held at 6pm after Thursday's matches, with spectacular performances from school children at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. Young gymnasts from Qatar Gymnastics Association also wowed the crowd with their acrobatic skills. Jassim Rashid Al-Buenain, Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) inaugurated the championship, which is organised by the Qatar School Sports Federation (QSSF) under the aegis of International School Sports Federation (ISSF). “Under the patronage of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Olympic Committee, the opening ceremony of the World Handball Championship has been announced and he wishes success to all participating delegations," said Al-Buenain.Al-Hitmi said that the Organising Committee of the Championship will do its best to host a high class event and called up participating athletes to uphold the spirit of sport during the tournament. “The dream has come true and we are witnessing today the opening of the world handball school tournament," said Ali al-Hitmi, vice-chairman of the organising committee and Secretary General of the QSSF.Stelos Daskalkis, Vice President of the ISSF expressed his gratitude to the State of Qatar, the Qatar Olympic Committee and the QSSF for hosting the tournament and commended the facilities provided for the championship. Meanwhile in other matches played at Aspire Hall and Women's Sports Hall yesterday, defending boys' champions Turkey cruised past Belgium 31-16, while France beat Bulgaria 39-22. Poland edged past Denmark 26-24, Croatia overcame Serbia 29-15 and Israel thrashed Georgia 36-11.In girls section, Georgia managed to squeeze past Belgium 18-15, whole Greece blanked Poland 6-0. The organisers have planned a raffle draw and many surprise gifts will be given away to lucky fans at the venue. The organising committee has co-ordinated with schools and colleges to bring students and cheer for teams. it has made also arrangements to bring students and persons with special needs to watch the matches.

Qatar defeat Iraq in FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers

TEHERAN, February 23, 2018 – Qatar basketball team registered a comfortable 77-66 victory over Iraqi counterparts in the third round encounter of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers held in Teheran, Iran on Thursday.Qatar national team will lock horns against Kazakhstan in the fourth round encounter on Sunday.It is worth mentioning that Qatar national team suffered two consecutive defeats at the hands of Kazakhstan and Iran in the previous two rounds.