Kiptarus wins Ooredoo Doha Marathon

Doha, January 13, 2018- Kenyan Chebii Collins Kiptarus and Rokhsareh Ramezani of England won the Full Marathon at the Ooredoo Doha Marathon races in the men's and women's section respectively yesterday.In the men's section, 27-year-old Kiptarus clocked a time of 2:16:22 while 29-year-old Ramezani, took 2:24:06 to cross the finish line in the 47kms event.In the Half Marathon (21k), is Kenyan Alex Kibet, 27 years – won the top prizes with a time: 1:01:53 while in the Female category, 31-year-old Allie Kiefer from the USA, clocked a time of time: 1:10:40A record number of over 2,400 participants took part in the race which was kicked off by HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Youth and Sports, along with H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, the Chairman of Ooredoo.Athletes included multiple Olympic Gold Medallist Sir Mo Farah, winner of the Great Scottish Run in 2017 Chris Thompson, Germany's marathon record holder Arne Gabius, Turkey's two-time Olympian Bekir Karayel, Michael Shelley, the 2014 Commonwealth Games marathon champion, Gemma Steel, European Cross-Country Champion, and more.Over 2,400 runners took part in the event from 83 different nationalities.The Marathon, which is fast becoming an international event favourite for runners of all ages and abilities, was set along Qatar's beautiful Corniche and Doha skyline and offered the competitors the chance to win a range of different prizes based on categories, age, and gender.As part of the company's vision to encourage more people to get fit and active, Ooredoo, in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority, invited a host of renowned international athletes to take part in a special 'Elite Category' with a prize of $ 50,000, up for grabs.Speaking about the Ooredoo Doha Marathon, Waleed Al-Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, said: “We're delighted with this year's Marathon turn-out, which not just included runners, but hundreds of spectators cheering on their loved ones and our Elite Category runners. Congratulations to everyone who competed and to our all the winners."“This edition of the marathon is a significant one for Qatar and we hoped to create a spirit and sense of community more than ever, which is why participants ran under the slogan 'United We Run'. I am delighted to announce that it has been a bigger and better event than ever and has truly helped cement Qatar as a first-class sporting destination," added Waleed Al Sayed.This year's marathon event featured courses for runners of all abilities - including a 10 KM and 5 KM run, half-marathon, full marathon, Elite Category and a special children's 1 KM fun run.

Qatar beat Oman in AFC U23 Championship

Changzhou, January 13, 2018-A neat Akram Afif finish edged Qatar closer to a quarter-final berth at the AFC U23 Championship 2018 yesterday thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over regional rivals Oman at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center.With one round of matches still to play, the victory lifts Qatar to top spot in Group A on six points, three ahead of both host nation China PR and Uzbekistan, while Oman are fourth and still searching for their first points of the tournament. Uzbekistan beat China 1-0 in the day's earlier match.In a first half of few genuine chances, Qatar threatened first when Afif curled an early shot wide, before Oman midfielder Jameel al-Yahmadi released Muhsen al-Ghassani who could only drill his 22nd minute shot wide of Ibrahim al-Mukhaini's right hand post when through on goal.Al-Mukhaini was then forced into action some 10 minutes later, the custodian reacting well to tip a firm Bassam al-Rawi header over the bar following Ahmad Moein's pinpoint free-kick.However, as the opening period drew to a close, it was Qatar who would take the lead when the industrious Almoez Ali found Afif who finished with aplomb from a tight angle. Oman emerged after the break clearly eager to restore parity, and al-Ghassani came close to doing just that courtesy of a shot from 20 yards that fizzed narrowly past Mohamed al-Bakari's left upright with an hour played.A flicked header from Oman livewire al-Ghassani and Qatar substitute Meshaal al-Shamari's late effort over the bar subsequently represented the best opportunity either team forged as full-time approached, and the Qataris kept their hopes of progressing to the knockout phase well and truly alive.Qatar coach Felix Sanchez was happy with his team's show but said Oman put up a good fight.“I think both teams made a good effort today. It was great that we were able to get the three points. Oman pushed hard and made it difficult for us to control the ball at times, but we had our chances to score on the counter-attack," said Sanchez.“I am proud of my players as they have played against two strong teams in Uzbekistan and Oman so far and have performed well."Oman coach Hamad al-Azani was clearly unhappy with the result.“I am disappointed by the result. A lot of my players are young, and they have a (bright) future, we have to support them," said al-Azani.“I think we did well to restrict Qatar's goalscoring chances and had opportunities of our own in the first half and then in the second half when we changed our formation and played with two strikers."Meanwhile, Khojiakbar Alijonov's first half strike proved the difference as Uzbekistan secured a vital and thrilling 1-0 win over China .The win leaves the Central Asians level with China on three points and, and with Qatar defeating Oman 1-0 in the day's second match, both teams can still genuinely harbour ambitions of sealing a spot in the quarter-finals with one game apiece still to play.Uzbekistan, who made a raft of changes to their starting 11 in the wake of Tuesday's defeat to Qatar, were the first to threaten on a chilly afternoon in Jiangsu province, Dostonbek Khamdamov whipping in a 10th minute free-kick that China goalkeeper Zhou Yuchen did well to gather at his near post.Their fine early endeavours were though to be rewarded just four minutes later when defender Khojiakbar Alijonov made the most of poor Chinese defending to fire a left footed shot across Zhou and into the far corner of the net.China responded well to the setback, Gao Zunhyi seeing his firm header cleared off the line by Doniyorjon Narzullaev, and Wei Shihao having a shot smothered by Uzbekistan custodian Botirali Ergashev following fine work down the right by Ba Dun shortly after the half hour mark.In the last meaningful action of an entertaining first half Ergashev then pulled off a superb flying save to push away Yao Junsheng's headed attempt from a pinpoint Liu Yiming delivery.China continued to press after the break, as Yang Liyu blazed over the bar when well placed, before substitute Tang Shi headed Li Shuai's sublime cross narrowly wide of the target within six minutes of the restart.With Uzbekistan defending resolutely, China duly struggled to find the goal they so desperately needed, with Wei Shihao's speculative effort from distance one of the few highlights for Massimiliano Maddaloni's charges. Uzbekistan will look to seal a place in the last eight when they tackle Oman in the final round of group stage matches on Monday, while China are scheduled to face Qatar.

Qatar to participate in GCC U17 Basketball Tournament

DOHA, January 12, 2018-The Qatari youth basketball team will participate in the GCC U17 Basketball Tournament to be staged in Muscat, Oman from February 05-10, 2018.The tournament will bring together five teams including; Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Hosts Oman. Mohammad Ali Al Sebaie, Secretary General of the GCC Basketball Organizing Committee said that the Qatari referee Saif Al Dosari will participate in the event.

Stage set for Qatar Total Open

DOHA, January 12, 2018-Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) announced Thursday that the top 10 ranked women's tennis players will compete in the Qatar Total Open, organized by the federation on Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex from February 12-18.Secretary-General of QTF Tariq Al Zainal said yesterday that the top 10 players who confirmed their participation are Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Venus Williams, Karolina Pliskova, Jelena Ostapenko, Caroline Garcia, Johanna Konta, and Coco Vandeweghe. Director of the competition Saad Al Mohannadi said that preparation for hosting the event is complete, and said that the organizing committee is ready to host one of the strongest tournaments in the region for women's tennis. Tickets will be available for sale online and in different malls in Doha starting tomorrow Friday in order to give fans of the game a chance to watch their favorite tennis players. The tickets will be available in City Center, Landmark, Lagoona, and Villagio malls.

In-form Qatar to go all out for victory against Oman

Changzhou, January 12, 2018- Despite winning the opening fixture of the AFC U23 Championship against Uzbekistan, Qatar will focus on the task in hand when they meet Oman at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Changzhou, in southern Jiangsu province of China today.Influential midfielder Akram Afif has said that Qatar remain focussed on the task in hand despite the morale boosting 1-0 win over Uzbekistan.A well worked Almoez Ali, with assistance from midfielder Hashim Ali, flicked a ball from close range to score the only goal of match in the 56th minute after both the sides failed to score in the first half.That gave Qatar a perfect start to their Group A campaign, but Afif insisted that his side should not get carried away by their early success.“Our team really did well, and it was important to win that game," explained the 21-year-old who plays in Belgium for Eupen.“Yes, we won the game and got the three points, but that doesn't mean that we have won (the tournament). It's not enough, and right now we are only looking ahead to playing Oman," Afif said.Hosts China had it easy against Oman in the opening match on Tuesday which put them at the top of the Group.Coach Felix Sanchez's boys are currently occupying second spot behind Qatar and Afif is aware of the capabilities of the host team.“China are a very good team."“No one particular player stands out. They are all very good and they help each other out, and I think they will go far in this tournament," Afif said.On the other hand, Oman will try their best to bounce back following Tuesday's 3-0 loss and make sure they stay in contest.Omani striker Zahir Al Aghbari said that they will learn from mistakes before going into the all-important clash against Al Annabi.“We will learn from our mistakes," the 18-year-old said.“We now need to think more about our next two games. We will fix our mistakes and we need to win the next two matches," he said.With their continued participation in the competition potentially in the balance, Al Aghbari said that they are fully focused on the task in hand.“We will focus on our game against Qatar first," he said.“Qatar play in the Gulf Cup, so we know them better than the other teams, and we know exactly how they play as a team. We have played against them a lot, especially in the last two years.“We are confident we can progress, but we must think more about our next step. All the teams in Group A are at the same level, and I believe that the team which can focus more at this stage of the competition will qualify," Al Aghbari said.Today's match will kick off at 2.30pm Qatar time. Qatar will play their final Group match against hosts China on January 15.

Qatar tennis team to participate in three futures tournaments in Turkey

DOHA, January 11, 2018-The Qatari tennis team will participate in three futures tournaments to be staged in Antalya, Turkey from January 15. The Qatari squad includes Mubarak Shanan, Mousa Shanan and Jabor Al Mutawa. The Turkey Tennis Federation gave wild cards to the three players to participate in the main draw of the three futures tournaments.