Sheikh Joaan attends Winter Games Opening Ceremony

Pyeongchang, February 10, 2018- The Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani attended yesterday the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Games being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea until February 25. HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani also attended the dinner banquet hosted by Ambassador of the State of Qatar in South Korea HE Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Dehaimi. In attendance also were the Olympic Council of Asia President HE Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad, the Qatar Football Association President HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmad al-Thani and the South Korea Football Association President Mr. Chung Mong-gyu. The 23rd Olympic Winter Games officially kicked off in Pyeongchang, South Korea, yesterday with a dazzling spectacle featuring a parade of participating nations and a whimsical storyline.

Draw held for Qatar Total Open 2018

Doha, February 11, 2018- The draw for the Qatar Total Open 2018 was held at Four Seasons Hotel in Doha on Saturday. The tournament is as glittering as ever as nine of the WTA top 10 players including the new world number one Caroline Wazniacki and the defending champion Karoline Pliskove are joined by an incredibly strong field including Maria Sharapova to guarantee top quality matches from day one. The draw ceremony was attended by the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Secretary General Tariq Zainal, Total Deputy VP of HR, Communication and Corporate Social Responsibilities Christophe Eon, Tournament Director Saad Al-Mohannadi and QTF Board Member Karim Alami . Also in attendance were Elena Vesnina, Daria Kasatkina, Fatma Al Nabhani and Ons Jabeur.

QOA Course on Olympic Movement Principles concludes

DOHA, February 11, 2018 – The Qatar Olympic Academy has successfully concluded a productive course on “ Olympic Movement Principles" at its Headquarters on Thursday.The prestigious training course which lasted for five days came in the frame of series of annual cultural courses aim to popularize Olympic values among local community members.The Qatar Olympic Academy (QOA) organized the course in collaboration with IOC's Olympic Solidarity Committee, brought together 20 trainees.The course key lecturer Hashim Al Adwani, a professor on sport management science at IOC enlightened the trainees during the five day course about the sport management concepts, foundation of Olympic movement and modern Olympic games and Olympic Charter.

Team Qatar win Winter Camp Beach Volleyball Tournament

DOHA, February 11, 2018—With attendance of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary General HE Jassim al-Buenain, the Winter Camp Beach Volleyball Tournament came to an end on Friday. The hugely successful tournament saw eight teams compete in the huge beach-front sports zone on Sealine Beach. Team Qatar claimed the title after beating Al Wakrah 21-9 21-18 in the final match. Brazil finished third with a 2-0 victory over Philippines. The QOC Secretary General HE Jassim al-Buenain crowned the winners. Team Qatar Winter Camp Manager Mohammed Al Mesnad was delighted by the success of the volleyball tournament. Al Mesnad thanked the Qatar Volleyball Association for their cooperation with camp management and stressed that the tournament featured the participation of four national team players. 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. The Winter Camp is open every Friday from 1pm-8pm and can be found by entering 'Qatar Olympic Committee Winter Camp' into Google Maps. It is free for everyone to enter and you can keep up to date with all information on the Team Qatar social media pages.

Qatar getting ready to host Handball World Championships

DOHA, February 11, 2018 - More than 20 countries will be participating in the 2018 Handball World Schools Championships which will be held from February 22 to 28 in Doha and preparations to host the event have been going as a smooth pace, organisers of the event said here on Saturday.“The championship kicks from February 22 and will be held in both boys and girls section and at three venues. The event will end on February 28," informed Ali Al Hitmi, Secretary-General of Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA), while addressing a press conference here yesterday. Preparations to host the event has been gathering pace and everything is going according to the plan," he added. “The boy's matches will be held at Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Hall at Al Sadd Club while the girls event will be stage at Qatar Women's Sports Committee Hall and at Aspire Dome," he added.Qatar team players have been undergoing training ahead of the championship while the organisers have taken on board the technical expertise of Qatar Handball Association in hosting the championship and preparing the team for the event.The International School Sport Federation (ISF) has approved the organization of the tournament, which will be held for the first time in Doha, to take advantage of Qatar's great potential for organizing such tournaments, following the great success achieved when Qatar organized the World Tennis School Championship two years ago. Last month an organizing committee delegation toured the facilities where the Championships will be played in order to inspect the latest preparations and ensure that all the ISF requirements are met after another visit by the ISF delegation to inspect the readiness of the facilities of the tournament. Executive Director of the School Sports Association Abdulrahman Al Muftah said that the organizing committee is working to ensure a high level of readiness before the launch of this event, which is going to held for the first time in Qatar, adding that the confidence given by the ISF encouraged the committee to ensure a successful organization of the event and to highlight Qatar's capabilities in organizing such large tournaments. Dr Salah Salem, technical expert of the School Sports Association, said that much have been done one month before the start. The level of readiness at the two halls in Al Sadd club and Aspire makes us confident that the tournament will run according to the schedule set in light of the great participation by many countries, he added.A draw ceremony of the Handball World Schools Championships held in Doha places Qatar in Group A in the boys event along Denmark, Austria, Poland and Morocco. Turkey, Brazil, Greece, India and Belgium are in Group C. France is placed with Croatia, Serbia, Iran and Bulgaria in Group B while Germany, Czech Republic, Romania and Georgia are in Group D. Denmark, France, Croatia, Belgium and Georgia are placed in Group D of the girls' tournament. Group A has Turkey, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria while Group B consists of Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Czech Republic and India. Slovenia, Brazil, Sweden and Greece complete Group C.

Qatar Total Open qualifying from Saturday

​DOHA, February 9, 2018 - The qualifying round of the 2018 Qatar Total Open will start Saturday and last for two days with the participation of 32 players, of whom 28 take part based on international ranking and four through wildcards, including Qatar’s promising player Mubarka Al-Nuaimi.Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) hosts the tournament at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, with eight players progressing from the qualifying round to the main round that begins on Monday.The tournament runs until February 18 and sees participation of 64 players, including the world’s top seeds, who aim to win the title of the tournament that launched in 2001.QTSBF secretary-general Tariq Zeinal, who is also the tournament’s general coordinator, said that all preparations are finished for the event, which sees the participation of the top 10 world seeds.Zeinal said that tennis fans in Qatar will get to watch several top players, notably world’s No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who recently won the Australian Open, along with Romanian Simona Halep, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, Czech Karolina Pliskova, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, German Angelique Kerber and France’s Kristina Mladenovic.The tournament, with a total prize money of $2.6mn, will also feature 32 players in the doubles category of the competition.Meanwhile, QTSBF executive director and tournament director Saad al-Mohannadi said that Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex is ready to welcome the game’s best players as well as tennis fans.He added that this year’s edition is expected to be extremely competitive thanks to the inclusion of the world’s top seeds, which will be a unique opportunity for fans.Al-Mohannadi said that ticket sales are very promising, expecting the 2018 edition of the event to be the best ever. He added that players were scheduled to arrive yesterday, with Muguruza the first to land in Doha, followed by two-time winner Maria Sharapova, who will have a chance to compete for the diamond ball if she manages her third title.