Category: Sports

Doha: The 2023-2024 season of the Qatar Drift Championship came to an end with the conclusion of the fourth and final round of the championship, which was organized by the Qatar Racing Club (QRC) over two days at the drift circuit in the Industrial Area, amid wide participation from an elite group of champions.

The fourth and final round of the championship resulted in the crowning of Ali Al Jabsha with the season championship title in the local category, while the championship title in the overall standings went to the winner for the fourth consecutive time, the Omani racer Ahmed Al Amri.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Al Markhiya tasted success as they bounced back from being a goal down to beat Al Ahli by a 4-1 margin in their Week 20 match of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.

The goals for Al Markhiya came from Mohammed Khaled Al Naimi (30th minute), Bashar Resan (43rd and 90th minutes), and Naoufal Bannis (83rd minute). Julian Draxler scored for Al Ahli in the 22nd minute.

It was a telling performance from Al Markhiya who are looking to wriggle out of a difficult position, now having raised their tally to 11 points with their third win of the league though they are still in 12th place. Al Ahli are in ninth spot with 20 points.

Al Markhiya made a fluent attacking start, with their star Yusupha Nije making a big strike in the 20th minute, but his kick went just wide to the left of goal.

Two minutes later, Al Ahli shocked their rivals as Draxler struck after exciting goal-mouth action. Draxler first moved in from the left to provide a pass to Al Dokali Al Sayed, who dro
ve from just outside the box and goalkeeper Loukay Ashour made a save with both hands, but the ball fell to Oumar Sekou who made a back flip and Al Markhiyas Naby Sarr rushed in to head the ball out, but Draxler was again waiting to put the ball back into the goal.

Al Markhiya did not take long to hit back and as Al Naimi made a spectacular header off a long free-kick to draw parity.

The contest became livelier as Al Markhiya matched their rivals and went up the lead just before the break, with Abdulrahman Moustafa moving down the right to pass the ball to Al Dokali who sent in a cross for a waiting Bashar Resan to make a rasping volley kick into the left corner of the net (2-1).

The second session was a long-drawn battle between the two sides as Al Ahli looked to make openings, but could not succeed.

Eventually, Al Markhiya dashed all Al Ahli hopes as Bashar cut through from the right to send the ball to Njie, who made a back pass for a waiting Naoufal Bannis to strike powerfully into the far left corner
(3-1).

Bashar Resan towards the end provided more icing on the cake as he hit from left top of the box to beat a diving goalkeeper for Al Marhkiyas fourth goal of the match.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Qatar SC beat Al Shamal 2-1 in Week 20 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday.

All three goals of the match came through Qatar SCs players, with Bruno Tabata (23rd minute) and Yousef Mohammed (28th minute) scoring for coach Helio Sousas side, while Al Shamals goal came courtesy of an own goal by Khaled Mahmoudi in the 41st minute.

Qatar SC advanced to 19 points in the standings with the result, while Al Shamal remained on 21.

The match was evenly balanced with not much difference between the two sides until Qatar SCs Tabata opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after finishing off an impressive overlapping run by Yohan Boli, who made a good sprint with the ball from their own half of the field before perfectly setting up the Brazilian for the sublime finish.

The goal was, however, without incident, as Al Shamals Jassim Ali Al Hashemi, who was making a run to tackle Tabata, suffered a likely harmstring injury in the attempt and had to be stretchered out shortly a
fter the goal.

Six minutes later, an error in the midfield by Al Shamal resulted in the ball falling into Qatar SCs Raoul Sanda, who made a dashing run before firing a right-footed shot that was parried by goalkeeper Abdalla El Rady into the waiting legs of Ali, who only had to tap in to bag the second goal for Qatar SC.

With two goals down, Al Shamal started seeking a way back into the game with some brilliant attacking runs and their effort eventually paid off in the 41st minute when Mahmoudi mistakenly headed the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear the ball away to pull Al Shamal back into the game.

The scoreline remained the same as the team headed into the dugout for the break.

Al Shamal were the better side for most of the second half, but for all their superior ball possession, they could, however, not get the needed equliser as Qatar SC stood determined to run away with the maximum points.

Al Shamals closest attempt at securing the equaliser was in the 80th minute, when Yousef Belhandas
curling shot grazed the upright on its way out.

Without many other opportunities, Qatar SC cruised to a very important win, while Al Shamal were left to rue their luck.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The organizing committee of the 16th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup (Taishan) continues preparations for the global event to be staged from April 17 to 20 in the Women’s Sport Committee hall at Aspire Academy. It is organized by the Qatar Gymnastics Federation for the eleventh year in a row, with the participation of 150 male and female players representing 50 countries, and it qualifies for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

In a press statement today, head of the organizing committee Ali Al Hitmi confirmed that preparations are underway to organize a distinguished edition, as the committee seeks to complete all arrangements for the tournament will all committees working at different times, especially in the holy month of Ramadan, praising the great role played by all the employees to complete the preparations of the tournament hall and the warm-up and training hall.

Al Hitmi noted keenness on providing all that related to the organization in terms of the main playing hall and checking on the equipment, es
pecially since the tournament is being held in a hall different from that of the previous editions, which is the Women’s Sport Committee hall, as the Aspire hall is busy with preparations for the world swimming championships that Qatar hosted recently.

Source: Qatar News Agency

London: Manchester United drew 2-2 with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday as they bounced back from their late collapse against Chelsea on Thursday night.

Liverpool took the lead after 20 minutes and would have been disappointed to only be leading 1-0 at the break, but United sparked a comeback and led 2-1 after the hour mark.

Mohamed Salah then converted a penalty with 10 minutes remaining to ensure a point for his side.

Liverpool’s draw means Arsenal are top of the table, with Jurgen Klopp’s side second and Manchester City in third.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Lisbon, Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger sealed a hard-earned victory at the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal in Grandola on Sunday.

The Prodrive Hunter crew had to defend an overnight lead of 2min 41sec over Portugal’s Joao Ferreira and the second quickest time on the day’s stage enabled the Qatari to move 12 points clear of Carlos Sainz in the unofficial FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) Drivers’ Championship standings and lift Nasser Racing by Prodrive into contention for the W2RC Manufacturers’ crown.

Al Attiyah had a winning margin of 2min 49sec.

The final stage was split into two sections with the first looping around Grandola for 101km before a final regroup took competitors into a short 3.7km sprint in front of live television cameras and thousands of spectators.

Source: Qatar News Agency

DOHA, The Kuwaiti racer Salem Al-Sarraf came second in the fifth and final round of the 2023-2024 Season of Qatar Drift Championship on Friday.

Ahmad Al-Ameri, of Oman, led the race while the Jordanian Ali Jabsha came third in the general rankings of the championship which started in November. Al-Sarraf noted that he ranked second in the first round and the first in the third round.

In statements to KUNA, he thanked the organizers of the championship, notably the Chairman of Qatar Racing Club Sheikh Jabr bin Khalid, for their hospitality and efforts to ensure the convenience of participants.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Doha: Al Rayyan coach Leonardo Jardim stressed the importance of their match against Muaither on Sunday within their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 20.

At a press conference today, the coach said that winning the three points will be very important for their efforts to advance to third place in the standings, despite the challenges that the team is experiencing due to the large number of absences that increased before the Muaither match as both Ahmed Al Rawi and Nayef Al Hadrami will join Abdulaziz Hatem, Rodrigo Tabata, Thiago Mendes, Tamim Mansour, Rodrigo Moreno and Osama Al Tiri, who are absent due to injury.

Muaither coach Jorge Da Silva, who also spoke ahead of their match against Al Rayyan, said, “We played a great match in the last round against Umm Salal and we got the three points that were very important to us, and this victory came as a result of intense work. We have been very serious during the recent period and we look forward to presenting a strong performance worthy of Muaither in
the upcoming matches.

“The next match against Al Rayyan is strong and very difficult, and we will play against a big team that has distinguished players, but we are ready for this match. We will fight to come out with a positive result and get the three points that will put us in a good position in the table.

“The teams preparations for the Al Rayyan match are the same as the preparations for every match, but I spoke with the players about the necessity of implementing the instructions required of them, and making every effort to obtain the three points because of their importance to the team, whether in improving our position in the table or at the psychological level for the remaining matches in the league.”

Source: Qatar News Agency

Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen moved closer to winning their first Bundesliga title after beating Union Berlin 1-0 on Saturday, while Bayern Munich lost 3-2 to Heidenheim.

Florian Wirtz’s penalty gave Xabi Alonso’s side a ninth successive win to stretch their lead over Bayern Munich to 16 points with six games remaining.

Xabi Alonso’s team, who have not lost in 41 matches across all competitions this season, can clinch their maiden Bundesliga title and first trophy in 31 years with a victory at home against Werder Bremen next week.

They are also set to break an 11-season stranglehold on the league by Bayern Munich, who have won every Bundesliga title since 2013.

Leverkusen are now on 76 points with six games left and second-placed Bayern anchored on 60 following a shock 3-2 defeat at Heidenheim, their second league loss in a row.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Aspire Academy organized several friendly matches during the blessed month of Ramadan, bringing together students from the academy and their counterparts from visiting teams, national teams, clubs, and academies from various age groups, representing football schools from three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa.

In a statement, the academy said that it hosted the Syrian Under-17 national team, Galatasaray S.K. from Turkiye represented by three age groups (U-19, U-15, and U-14), Al Ettifaq FC from Saudi Arabia (U-18), and three football academies: Mohammed VI Football Academy from Morocco (U-16 and U-19), FC Player Academy from Romania (U-16), and FC Champions Academy from France (U-13).

These matches are part of the preparations of Aspire Academy students to represent Qatari football in various competitions, including the qualifying rounds for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup scheduled for next year, which will begin later this year.

The Aspire team U-17 played two friendly matches against the Syrian nationa
l team of the same category, with the first match ending in a 1-1 draw, while the Aspire team won the second match with a score of 2-1.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins expressed hope to achieve a victory in the upcoming match against Um Salal on Sunday at the Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Week 20 of the Expo Stars League.

Speaking to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 20 match against Umm Salal, Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins said, “Normal preparations and everyone was working with high concentration during training, especially since everyone has great ambitions to achieve many things for Al Gharafa.

“The Umm Salal team has good players, especially in the frontline. I know many of them because they previously played in the Portuguese League. I would say to my players to be patient and fully focused, especially at that stage of the competition. What the players will offer is what will determine their fate in the league. We need everyone to be ready for this type of match, hoping not to feel any kind of regret at the end of the season. We have to pay attention as a difficult match awaits us.

“Homam Al Ameen w
ill continue to be absent due to injury, in addition to the absence of Abdullah Al Khatam and Seifeldeen Hassan due to his Olympic duty. Uruguayan midfielder Fabricio Diaz will also be absent due to suspension for receiving four yellow cards, while the rest of the players will be ready for the match,” said Martins.

Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron said, “Facing Al Gharafa requires a high concentration of players and we go into the match with the team spirit that we were accustomed to before. Umm Salal finished last season with 18 points, so obtaining 20 points so far with several matches remaining will push us forward, especially since the team played a great match against Al Rayyan and could have achieved a good result had it not been for the circumstances.

“A decline in performance is normal and common in football, and we must return to what we were before, especially since Umm Salal youth have great potential, and we can achieve fifth place if we achieve good results during the coming period.

“The Al Gh
arafa match is extremely important for both teams mainly because the opponent is a good team, and the match will be difficult and requires us to be at the highest levels of concentration and with the same spirit with which we fought some matches in order to achieve a positive result.

“Al Gharafa are a big team and are favourites in this match. For this reason, we can still play without any pressure. The most important thing in such matches is the result and to give our best and end the season on a better note,” said Carteron.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Washington, The Dallas Mavericks is nearing qualification for the playoffs in the NBA after defeating the Golden State Warriors 108-106 today.

P.J. Washington scoring 32 points, including two crucial points just seconds before the end of the game to lead his team to victory.

In other games, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder (126-112), the Charlotte Hornets won against the Orlando Magic (124-115), the Boston Celtics narrowly beat the Sacramento Kings (101-100), and the Miami Heat triumphed over the Houston Rockets (119-104).

Source: Qatar News Agency