EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

News
in Brief
Young Qatari athletes
brought home three gold
medals from the 13th Asian
Youth Athletics Championship in
Jakarta, Indonesia, in June. Charles
Bit Koksh bagged gold in 1500m
event and then on the closing day,
added gold in the 5000m. Musab
Abdulrahman Balah won gold in
the 800m. The competition saw the
participation of 600 athletes from 36
Asian countries
Qatar’s Abdullah Koni
has joined the fifth list of
contenders for the AFC
Player of the Year. The procedure
for selecting the best player in Asia
has been overhauled to inject more
transparency into the process with the
big announcement scheduled to be
made at the awards gala on November
25 in Shanghai. Thirteen players have
been short-listed for the award.
The Qatar Tennis Federation
(QTF) has held outdoor
training camps to prepare its
national team for youth competitions
in Arab Championships in Tunisia,
Morocco and Egypt as well as Open
Championships in Portugal and Spain.
Khalid Al Khulaifi, the QTF Board
Member and Head of National Teams
Committee wants the young players to
gain more experience abroad.
The Qatar Basketball
team will participate in the
King Abdullah Basketball
Championship to be held from July 25
to August 3, 2008 in Amman, Jordan.
Qatar’s participation in the event will
come prepare the team for the Asian
Basketball Championship to be held
in Kuwait in October and the GCC
Basketball Championship to be held
in Oman.
Qatar’s Bandar Al Shafi
won the title of 34th Hong
Kong Bowling Open beating
China’s Wang Tyn in the final match.
Al-Shafi defeated compatriots Saeed
Al-Hajri and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi in
the opening rounds to set up a semifinal
with 2006 World Championship
Masters champion Biboy Rivera.
Qatar’s new waterpark will feature a slalom course.
Doha goes to
the extreme
It’s one of the fastest growing participation
sport sectors – and now it looks to get its very
own venue in Qatar.
Extreme sports have taken the world by
storm in recent years, with the exhilarating,
thrill-seeking athletes taking activities off the
streets and into the mainstream.
9-BALL Pool makes STUNNING DEbut
Ian Anderson, President of the World Pool-
Billard Association, has hailed the success
of the Qatar International Open 9-Ball
Championship, which was organised by the
Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation (QBSF)
from June 27 to July 5.
Anderson thanked the QBSF’s warm
hospitality and praised its high organisational
skills in hosting this major event, which saw
more than 200 cueists from around the world
descend on Doha to compete for a total prize
money of $400,000.
Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi, President of
the QBSF, added his appreciation of the Qatar
Olympic Committee for encouraging QBSF
activities and promoting the game among
Qatar’s younger generation.
Arab countries were represented by 88
players in the preliminary rounds, with the
hosts Qatar putting forward 30 hopefuls.
It was the top stars from Europe, the USA
and the rest of Asia, however which dominated
events on the blue baize.
The main round of 32, which took place at
the Snooker Federation Hall, saw a number of
international stars make their move.
Now there are plans afoot to capitalise on
its rise with a state-of-the-art extreme sports
complex to be build at the Aspire Sports City.
Among its features will be a water park and a
slalom course, ideal for canoeing and kayaking.
And that’s not all. There are also plans in
the pipeline for the Middle East’s first indoor
football dome too.
Dubbed the Qatar Dome, it is designed to
create year-round opportunities to stage major
competitive matches in a bid to boost interest
and participation levels in the sport.
According to the Qatar Olympic
Committee, the plans will meet the long-term
needs of the community and further advance
sport in Doha.
The proposed extreme sports and football
venues are also part of the QOC’s ambitious
‘Masterplan for Venue Development’ which is
designed to ensure Qatar’s sports facilities are
among the best in the world, attracting major
events while proving attractive and accessible
for the local population.
Other facilities being discussed include a
new swimming centre at the Al Gharrafa Club
and a multi-purpose sports complex at the
Shaffallah Centre
Double world champion, Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes
of the Philippines, a legend of the sport, was
beaten by Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the early
stages - a defeat that was avenged by fellow
countryman Dennis Orcollo in the semi-finals.
In the final, Orcollo took on the Dutchman
Niels Feijen, and opened up an early lead,
which he maintained to take the title 13-5.
According to the hosts, the event had
been a great learning experience for the local
players and after the tournament, the QBSF
announced that a Qatari team will participate
in the inaugural World 10-Ball Championship
in Manila, capital of the Philippines, from
October 6-12, 2008.
6 QatarSport Q3.08