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It was an unusually calm day at the Doha Golf Club yesterday. 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 SCORES 65: 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).

Shubhankar Sharma’s golfing story is very much an organic one; from a kid going to the golf course with his father, rising through the amateur ranks, turning professional at 16 and now leading both the European Tour Race to Dubai and the Asian Tour Order of Merit. There was no master plan to create a golfing star; it was simply an offer of guidance and support to help an enthusiastic boy pursue his dream.  Today, more than 11 years after he first set foot on a golf course at the age of six, he has achieved a career-high rank of 71 following two European Tour wins this year,  and is now hoping to fulfill his dream of becoming World No 1. “Enjoying being at the top and I’m really happy at the moment, but not surprised by my victories as I was always confident of winning at this level,” Sharma told Gulf Times yesterday on the eve of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, his 15th European Tour event Two European Tour titles in three months (Joberg Open in December and Maybank Championship this month) is a dream-come-true for Sharma but the Indian youngster is trying to stay confident but grounded as he prepares for the World Golf Championship (WGC) in Mexico next week and The British Open in July. “Feeling great, it’s early in the season but it’s great start. Joburg was fantastic, I just played really well all four days and even pushed it into a Monday finish. I was really calm throughout and it was fantastic. I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as possible. On the other hand, in Malaysia, I was not expecting to win on the last day, I just had a crazy final round and got it done,” the 21-year-old from Chandigarh said. His latest success also helped him join the exclusive club of Indians who have achieved two wins in the same European Tour season, the others being Jeev Milkha Singh (2006) and Anirban Lahiri (2015). “I am young, but I am very comfortable playing against top players as I am playing professional golf since last six years. I hope I will achieve my dream to crack into world top 50 and probably become world No 1, a dream of every golfer,” the 21-year-old added. Apart from Qatar event, Sharma’s focus is on the WGC next week with the intention of keeping his career trending upwards and  playing on the PGA Tour. “Right now I am focusing on the Qatar Masters and after that I will play in my biggest tournament, the World Golf Championship in Mexico. I’m really excited as it was a goal of mine to get into one WGC event this year.” Talking about his first appearance in Qatar against two major winners and six past winners he said: “European Tour is always tough. It’s a new course form me, but a fantastic one. I think the greens are firm, but it will be difficult to put a big spin as the fairways are narrow. “All the courses on which I will play this year are new to me, apart from India of course, and maybe Malaysia, because I played there last year. Just fantastic, it just adds to my experience.” Sharma is a product of India’s developing golf culture and he believes more players would come out of it. Sharma missed the cut at last week’s NBO Oman Open as he was struggling with his putting speed. He is paired with former champion Chris Wood of England and Romain Wattel of France in the first two rounds.

Young Andrea Vescovi produced a fine display of shooting to lead the Italian dominance as they swept the podium in the double trap event of the Qatar Open Shotgun yesterday. At the Lusail Shooting Range, the 24-year-old Vescovi managed to overcome his senior and practice partner Daniele di Spigno by four shots (75-71) to win the gold, while teammate Aegnazio Tronca finished third. The three other shooters, who qualified for the final, were Italy’s Marco Innocenti, Russia’s Vasily Mosin and India’s Ankur Mittal. “It is a very good victory for me. This was my first title in third appearance at the event and I am very happy to win the gold beating a very strong field,” Vescovi, the 2014 junior world champion, said. Vescovi had stumbled to an indifferent start with 54 out of 60 in the first two rounds. However, he showed his class with 84 out of 90 in the next three rounds to put himself in line for the gold. Talking about the conditions, the marksman from Città di Castello said, “It was a windy day, but it’s an outdoor event and we are prepared to shoot in any conditions. I held my nerves to beat my countrymen and friends for my first title here.” The 42-year-old Di Spigno was satisfied with his silver medal as he said, “I am very happy with my performance as it came against a very competitive field in the very first event of the season. I am also happy with Andrea’s victory. He is a very good shooter and a deserving winner today. He is my teammate and we use to practise together at least twice a week, so it was a friendly competition.” World record holder Di Spigno is a regular at the Qatar event and is very impressed with the facilities at the range. “We start our season here every year and I must say the facilities are world class,” the 2016 runner-up said. Asian Shotgun champion Mittal, who also won silver at the 2017 ISSF World Shotgun Championship in Moscow, was the first to be eliminated from the final, having finished sixth with 24 hits out of 30. The 26-year-old Indian, who had been in irresistible form last year with a silver in the World Cup in Delhi and following it up with a gold in the World Cup in Acapulco, failed to match his Italians rivals in the first event of the season. Mittal is a member of the Indian shooting team which will take part in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in April this year. The 45-year-old Mosin, the 2015 world champion, was next to go as he managed to hit only 30 shots and left the field for the all-Italian affair. Rio Olympic silver medallist and 2017 champion Innocenti finished fourth with a score of 41. Qatar’s Hamad al-Marri, who won silver in last year’s edition, finished 16th, while Abdulbaset Mohsin was 13th. Other Qatar shooters, Masoud Ali al-Adbaand and Rashid Ali al-Athbi, were 17th and 19th respectively. Promising Indian shooter Manavaditya Singh Rathore won silver in the junior trap event on Saturday. Rathore shot 118 to finish second on the podium behind Italy’s Angelo Scalzone, who shot 119. Germany’s Jeremy Schulz won bronze with a score of 115. Son of Indian sports minister and Athens Olympics silver medallist, Rajyavardhan Singh, 19-year-old Rathore started with 23 in the first series of 25 shots and improved it to 24 in the next three series, but could manage only a 23 in the fifth and final series. The Doha event will conclude with Skeet final for men in which local hero and Olympic bronze medallist Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah will be in action on Thursday.

The stage is all set for the Ooredoo Doha Marathon as a stellar field of international athletes is ready to take part in the event tomorrow. As many as 20 elite men and women will be joining a record number of more than 2,000 amateur athletes who have already signed up for the mega event. These top athletes will represent Qatar’s key tourism markets including the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey as well as Spain and Portugal. Commenting on their participation Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer at Qatar Tourism Authority Rashed al-Qurese said, “Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 identifies sports tourism as one of four key pillars for the development of the tourism sector. As Qatar continues to witness developments in its infrastructure and facilities, it is steadily becoming a preferred destination for some of the world’s leading sports clubs and federations to host training camps, all of which resonates with Qatar’s message of welcoming the world.” He added: “As sports tourism partner, we would like to extend a warm welcome to Sir Mo Farah and all our elite athletes participating in the Ooredoo Doha Marathon 2018. The Marathon takes place at the beginning of the year, allowing us to capitalise on country’s pleasant winter weather as we work to position the Marathon in the calendar of international sports events.” Apart from Mo Farah, the six-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medallist, British long-distance runners Chris Thompson and Gemma Steele will also begin 2018 by competing in the half marathon event at the Ooredoo Doha Marathon. The British trio and 17 fellow elite men and women will compete over 13.1 miles, with a record number of 2,000 amateur runners lining up in mass participation for Doha Marathon. Farah, the 10-time global track gold medallist, will begin his full tenure as a road competitor in the Qatari capital as he prepares for The Big Half in March and the London Marathon in April. Among those joining Farah and Thompson, winner of the Great Scottish Run in 2017, are Germany’s marathon record holder Arne Gabius, Turkey’s two-time Olympian Bekir Karayel, American duo Ryan Vail and Abdi Abdirahman, who finished third in the New York City Marathon in 2016, and Michael Shelley. “I’m excited to compete at the Ooderoo Doha Marathon; this is my first time in Qatar. The half marathon race is a great fit into my overall plans for 2018, since I’m preparing for a spring marathon. It will be great to get a break from training and test my fitness against some of the best athletes in the world. My family is here with me, so I’m even more excited. No doubt we will enjoy the weather and we hope to visit some of the cultural institutes, like the Museum of Islamic Art,” Gabius, German marathon record holder and 18-time national champion, said. The 2014 Commonwealth Games marathon champion Shelley is one of the favourites for the event. He is using the event, as part of his preparation to defend his Commonwealth title later this year at the Gold Coast event. In the women’s elite race, the 32-year-old Steele, who most recently won team gold at the European Cross Country Championships, will be joined by USA’s Allison Kieffer, Sara Dossena of Italy and Turkey’s Esma Aydemir. “I am delighted to be competing in the 2018 Ooredoo Doha Marathon. The half marathon event offers a great course, some quality competition and a fantastic location in which to train and race. The facilities are top class and the people of Qatar are very welcoming. The organisation has been great too. I shall run my heart out for you,” said Steele, who has been training in Doha since December 30, 2017, for the event, said. The elite half marathon has USD50,000 in prize money up for grabs, with equal prize funds for both the men’s and women’s events. The invitational elite half is part of the Ooredoo Doha Marathon, which includes a full marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K events for adults and youth as well as 3K and 1K events for children. Over the past five years, the Ooredoo Doha Marathon has steadily grown to become the largest mass participation event in Qatar attracting runners from over 50 nationalities. THE FIELD Men’s Elite Mo Farah (GBR) Chris Thompson (GBR) Abdi Abdirahman (USA) Arne Gabius (GER) Hendrik Pfeiffer (GER) Bekir Karayel (TUR) Ryan Vail (USA) Scotty Bauhs (USA) Ayad Lamdassem (ESP) Daniele Meucci (ITA) Michael Shelley (AUS) Ivan Fernandez (ESP)   Women’s Elite Gemma Steele (GBR) Sara Dossena (ITA) Esma Aydemir (TUR) Allie Kieffer (USA) Emma Bates (USA) Melina Wolf (GER) Azucena Diaz (ESP) Monica Silva (POR)

Britain’s Mo Farah signs autographs during a promotional event in Doha yesterday. (Twitter/Ooredoo) British long-distance star may have left the track behind but the 34-year-old is gunning for glory in marathons Four Olympic gold medals, six world titles and he is not done yet. He is an athlete who personifies the adage, ‘no pain, no gain’. In fact, he loves pain. “I am still competing because I loooove pain,” retired track star Mo Farah stretched a few syllables to amplify what he felt, while talking ahead of his participation in the elite Half Marathon event in the Ooredoo Doha Marathon yesterday. “As an athlete, as a young boy I dreamt of becoming an Olympic champion and I remember taking part in as many races I could. I think it was 2000 Sydney Olympics, I had seen Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie compete and that’s when I told myself that I want to win an Olympic gold medal, and since then I have been training hard, and going on and on. “And it happened in 2012, and what a way for it to happen. That carried me every day. It felt amazing, it felt beautiful. It’s something I enjoy. And once you have gone through it, you can’t just sit after that. I definitely enjoy going for a run, pulling myself through pain, crazy sessions,” said Farah, who is taking part in his first event of the year at the Ooredoo Doha Marathon. “And there will be more crazy sessions coming through in case of a marathon. I like to be able to work and work. Just hearing the national anthem, it is a proud moment. It could well all depend on whether one morning I ask myself if I want to go through all this, but that my body decides,” the British athlete, who announced his intention to focus on the marathon in 2017, said. Farah completed the ‘distance double’ of 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships. He was only the second man in history after Kenenisa Bekele to win long-distance doubles at successive Olympics and World Championships, and first in history to defend both distance titles in both major global competitions – a feat described as the ‘quadruple-double’. Since finishing second in the 10,000m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships, Farah had an unbroken streak of ten global finals wins (the 5,000m in 2011, the 10,000m in 2017 and the double in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). The streak finally ended in Farah’s final World Championship track race, when he finished second to Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris in the 2017 5,000m final. However, in his final track race, the inaugural 2017 Diamond League Final in Zurich, he beat Edris for a 5,000m victory. After 10 global golds over 5,000 and 10,000m in the space of seven incredible years, the 34-year-old’s track exploits have already earned him a knighthood, but he still has unfinished business. He is taking part in the Doha marathon event for the first time with an eye on the London Marathon and Tokyo Olympics for a possible fifth Olympic title. Doha race will be the 34-year-old’s first race of 2018 as he prepares for the London Marathon on April 22 where he will take on Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge. “I am really looking forward to opening my 2018 season in Doha. I am taking the event as a chance to test myself on the fast and flat run along Doha, and also to hopefully check out the city,” Britain’s most successful-ever distance runner said. Farah also said a fourth Olympic Games appearance in 2020 is a distinct possibility. “Tokyo is possible. If I’m in great shape and I’m good enough to get a medal I will be there,” he said. Given his incredible journey so far it should not be out of question.

Diego Elias has been on a roll off late. The 20-year-old Peruvian had defeated three-time world champion Nick Matthew to reach the NetSuite Open semi-finals before losing out to current World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in a hard fought five-game battle. Elias seems to have carried that form to the Qatar Classic, being played at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex here, as he created the first upset on the opening day of the World Series event yesterday. Elias sent former champion James Willstrop crashing out (3-0) 12-10, 11-5, 11-8 in 46 minutes. The pulsating opening round clash was expected to go the distance, but the two-time world junior champion gave no chance to the veteran Englishman after a close first game. He easily won the next two games with some fast and accurate squash. In the first game, a huge rally at 3-2 gave Willstrop a four-point lead (7-3) and it looked like that the game had been decided. But out of the blue, Elias reversed the position on the court, sent Willstrop on a run and closed the gap (8-8 and 9-9) and won the game on his second chance. Both the players struck six winners each, but Willstrop also had five unforced errors. In the second, Willstrop seemed very much in the game again, but a little drop in energy allowed the Peruvian to take a healthy lead at 7-4 and later at 11-5. Willstrop came back blasting all guns, finding some amazing long drop shots. However, Elias’ backhand length was perfect and his court coverage was stunning in the latter part of the game. “It’s always hard to play against such a big star I just tried to apply as much pressure as I could throughout the match and maintained my concentration. The first game was very crucial, I think, I was down 8-3, I was just running too much for no reason… So just tried and volleyed as much as I could,” Elias said. “I am confident of my game as I managed to beat six top 10 players this season. I feel good and today, I think I played well. I hope this would be a good tournament for me,” he said. Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed al-Tamimi, hoping for a flying start to his campaign before home crowd, went down fighting against Egypt’s Fares Dessouky. Dessouky beat the wild card entrant 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 in 111 minutes. In the other upset of the day, Hong Kong’s qualifier Leo Au rallied to stun world No 16 from Australia, Ryan Cuskelly 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4. For Cuskelly, it was a return to the venue that saw him achieve a long awaited breakthrough into the top 20 in 2015, but it proved to be an unhappy hunting ground this time around as he fell flat against an inspired Au, who put in a performance of note and one that could lay the foundation for his own long awaited surge into the top 20. The opening game saw the two probing and testing, opening up all four corners of the court through a series of patient rallies before Cuskelly took the initiative and opened up a one game lead before Au matched him in the second. The Australian looked certain to restore his lead on the scoreboard in the third only to see Au rally from 4-8 to snatch the game. It was a run that dented Cuskelly’s confidence and in the fourth game it was one-way traffic for Au as he out-hustled Cuskelly. “I had no expectations today,” said Au. “Ryan is a good player, he’s very solid and consistent. Today I don’t think I had any pressure and I played well and that third game was key.” The tournament top-seed and world No.1 Gregory Gaultier defeated Mexico’s Cesar Salazar 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-9) later in the evening yesterday. The Frenchman, who is making his comeback, took only 37 minutes to win his first round match. This is his first appearance of the 2017-18 season, after suffering with an ankle injury that saw him forced to withdraw from both the NetSuite Open and US Open. “It’s been tough recently with the ankle injury so I came here happy to be back on court,” said Gaultier. “I haven’t played on a glass court for long; it felt a bit weird to start, and Cesar has been playing well and had some good wins recently. I’m pleased to come through. I just tried to find my mark and not do anything too crazy. I need these kind of matches to help me get back to fitness.” Gaultier could face two-time champion Mohamed El Shorbagy, who also won his first round match easily against English qualifier Chris Simpson 3-0, in the semi-finals. “I like playing here. I come back year-after-year and would love to get my name on the trophy again. This is where I won my first ever World Series title back in 2013 and I feel this year the event has raised the bar and I’m looking forward to hopefully having a good week,” El Shorbagy said. US Open champion and current leader in the World Series standings, Egypt’s Ali Farag, also marched into the second round defeating compatriot Karim Ali Fathi 11-7, 11-5, 11-1. Qualifier Saurav Ghosal from India also won his first round match against England’s Daryl Selby 11-4, 11-8, 11-2.  RESULTS FIRST ROUND *(1) Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Cesar Salazar (Mex) 11-6, 11-2, 11-9 *Zahed Mohamed (Egy) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra) 11-6, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2 *(Q) Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Daryl Selby (Eng) 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 *Diego Elias (Per) bt (7)James Willstrop (Eng) 12-10, 11-5, 11-8 *[5] Ali Farag (Egy) [Q] Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) bt 11-7, 11-5, 11-1 *(Q) Leo Au (Hkg) bt Ryan Cuskelly (Australia) 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 *Fares Dessouky (Egy) bt [wc] Abdulla al-Tamimi (Qat) 11-7, 118, 11-5 *(3) Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) bt [Q] Chris Simpson (Eng) 11-7, 11-9, 11-5

South Africa’s Chad Le Clos and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom are targeting further success at the Doha-leg of FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup, which starts at the Hamad Aquatic Centre today. “Doha is a second home for me. I have been coming here since 2012 and have always had success here. I hope that continues this time too. I will try to improve on my recent performances in Hong Kong,” Le Clos told the media yesterday. The London Olympics 200m butterfly gold medallist is the overall men’s series leader with a total score of 234 points after the end of the first four events in Moscow, Berlin, Eindhoven and Hong Kong.  He boasts of a 132-point lead over Tom Shields of the US. Russian star Vladimir Morozov is in third place with 138 points and his compatriot Kirill Prigoda is fourth. The two-day event will be fifth of the eight-leg World Cup, with Beijing (November 10-11) and Tokyo (November 14-15) the other remaining stopovers. Le Clos is entered in six races this weekend. In Hong Kong he had won gold in 50m fly, while picking up silver medals in 100m fly and 200m freestyle. “It’s been a hard few months of training for me leading up to this and I will be pushing myself here also,” the 25-year-old champion said. Le Clos also expected a very good show by Sjostrom in Doha. “Sarah had a very good outing in Hong Kong and I am sure that she will establish a couple of world records here.” After a four-week break, the Swedish ace pocketed five gold medals throughout the two-day competition in Hong Kong. She was topped 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, and 50m and 100m fly. “I am very happy to be back in Doha. I was here in 2014 for the World Championships, which were very successful for me. It’s my first World Cup here, and hope it’s going to be fun,” said Sjostrom.  “I have had a very good season – I am taking part in all the World Cup legs and it’s going pretty well,” the 24-year-old said.  The 2016 Rio Games 200m butterfly gold medallist leads the women’s points table with 353 points, while Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu (272 points) and the Netherland’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo (155 points) round up the top three ahead of the Doha leg. Talking about her good show in Hong Kong last week, Sjostrom said, “I was coming after a good break after Eindhoven, which finished on August 12. I was fully recovered and it was evident in my performance.” Prigoda too was optimistic of his performance in Doha. “Like Sarah, I was also here for the last time for the World Championships, and I won bronze. So I have found memories of this pool and I expect a good performance at the very nice venue,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Qatar Swimming Association president Khaleel al-Jabir emphasised that the event was generating a great enthusiasm in the city and mentioned, with proud, that some young Qatari swimmers were participating in the event.  “This is very important for us, as it will be essential for building-up and developing swimming in Qatar. This competition and the presence of so many stars is certainly a motivation for our youth,” he said.  The press conference was also attended by FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu and technical delegate Daphne Bird.  “Outside the frame of the FINA World Championships, the World Cup is the best and most privileged opportunity to further promote our sport. The event in Doha will be spectacular, as this city is actively preparing for the 2023 FINA World Championships here in Qatar,” Marculescu said.  “However, nothing is more important in swimming than our stars – and some of them are here with us for the event.” With the new 2017 rules for the World Cup, swimmers are competing twice in each event over the three-leg cluster, but with the reduction to two events in cluster 2, the full programme of 34 individual events for each leg was reinstated only for Hong Kong and Doha.  Moreover, the general rule of a maximum of four individual events per swimmer per leg was slightly modified for this second cluster, and now comprises six events per competitor. FINA announced earlier this week it has raised the prize money awarded to winners of the overall World Cup titles. A total of $600,000 will now be split across the top three in the men’s and women’s competitions. The two athletes that finish in first place at the end of the World Cup campaign will receive $150,000 each. Second place will get $100,000 and third place will receive $50,000.

Al Rayyan stunned favourites Al Arabi 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 36-24) in the final of the Emir Cup yesterday and ended the Reds’ domination in the finals of the prestigious tournament. At the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee Indoor Hall in the Aspire Zone, defending champions Al Arabi, who won three domestic titles in the current season, were no match for a rejuvenated and motivated Al Rayyan in the final, which was the 16th Emir Cup title clash between the two domestic giants. Al Arabi’s two out of four titles in the current season came at the expense of  Al Rayyan who have been found wanting in defence especially when they needed it the most. However, yesterday it was different story as Rayyan started off very well by winning the first two sets comfortably in 23 minutes each. In the third, Al Arabi provided stiff resistance, but Rayyan held their nerve  to clinch it 36-24 in 36 minutes after a see-saw battle. Conceding the first two sets, Arabi did what they could to get their act together. They raced to an initial 10-6 lead in the third, thanks to their professional player Gyrogy Grozer’s fierce attacks. Arabi maintained their lead building on their rivals’ poor reception but Al Rayyan captain Osmel Camejo dominated Arabi’s taller blockers with his devastating spikes to turn the tide. Rayyan then led 24-23, needing only one more point to win the set. But Al Arabi stormed back to catch them at 24-24, although Al Rayyan fared better in the final assault to rally past their opponents. “It is a big win for us at the end of the season. We lost two finals earlier, but winning the Emir Cup is something else. It has erased all our disappointments,” Rayyan coach Carlos Schwanke said. “As I said before we were better placed for the final and were motivated for the title after a disappointing season. My players executed our plans very well and I am very delighted with the victory. “I was confident of the victory. We got extra days this time to prepare ourselves as we finished our best-of-three semifinal playoff 2-0 against El Jaish,” he added. The Brazilian gave credit to his new professional player, Serbian Milos Nikic, who joined them for the Emir Cup and gelled well with Camejo. Cuban star Camejo scored 15 points for the winners, while Nikic scored 14. “Our new combination of Nikic and Camejo worked well for us in the championship as it improved our overall game. Nikic is an experienced player and his inclusion has added the value to our team,” he said. Arabi’s professional spiker Grozer scored a match-high 20 points for them and their American outside hitter Taylor Sander contributed eight. Besides the Qatar Cup and Super Cup, Al Arabi also won the season-opener Federation Cup defeating El Jaish. However, after that there was an alarming dip in the Reds’ form which resulted in them finishing third in the Qatar League and fifth in the GCC Clubs Championship. In yesterday’s final, Al Arabi who defeated Qatar league champion Police 2-0 in the playoff, were on a high after the Qatar Cup win, but failed to keep their winning streak intact. “It is disappointing to lose the final today. Overall we have played a good game throughout the season, but today especially in the first two sets were not up to the mark. The credit also goes to Rayyan as they played the first two sets superbly to outclass us,” Sander said.

Al Rayyan are hoping to end a disappointing season on a winning note by winning the prestigious Emir Cup Volleyball at the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee Indoor Hall in Aspire Zone today. The Lions have failed to win a single title this season, but their coach Carlos Schwanke is eager to make up for that with the win in the final against arch-rivals Al Arabi. “We are motivated for the final and hopefully we will put up a good show and win the title to end the season on top. I am sure the Emir Cup win will erase all disappointments,” Schwanke said. “We lost the Qatar Cup final to Arabi, but this time we are better prepared after winning the best-of-three semifinal playoffs in straight games and got some extra days to recover for the important final,” said Schwanke, who remains confident that his team can finish the year with a flourish against in-form Arabi. “We have a new combination this time as our new professional player Serbian Milos Nikic has joined us. We are ready for the final battle. We have displayed fine team work in the playoffs and have confidence that my boys will do it again in the final,” the Brazilian said. The 31-year-old wing-spikes Nikic is a top professional player, who has played for several European teams and played in the strongest of volleyball leagues. He was also part of the Serbia’s gold medal winning team from the 2011 European Championship. On the other hand, defending champions Arabi are aiming for picking up their fourth domestic title of the season and their third successive Emir Cup. Al Arabi coach Patrick Duflos is also well aware of the fight in the final, admitting they have to play a tough game against a motivated and better-prepared Rayyan this time. “It will be a tough and long final as we are playing against a better-looking Rayyan this time. They have had more preparation time and have a very seasoned professional player in Nikic this time. They will be more motivated to win this time after not winning anything this season,” he said. Talking about his team’s preparations, he said, “We are happy to be in the final and will put up a great fight again.” Talking about their losses to Arabi in the Qatar Cup and Super Cup finals, captain Osmel Camejo said, “We are ready for the final against Arabi once again and hope this time we will beat them. We were disappointed after losing Qatar Cup final to them, but I think we are well prepared this time.” Besides, Qatar Cup and Super Cup, Arabi won the season-opening Federation Cup, defeating El Jaish. After that there was an alarming dip in their form which resulted in them finishing third in the Qatar League and fifth in the GCC Clubs Championship. However, with the inclusion of outside hitter Taylor Sander, a member of America’s bronze-winning squad in Rio, and Germany’s pro Gyorgy Grozer, Arabi are at their best. Grozer, who was the highest score for the Reds in the Qatar Cup final, is excited to play yet another final against Rayyan. “I am excited to play another big final against Rayyan. I think we are playing well as a team and determined to win the Cup,” said the German star. Rayyan, who finished fourth in the Qatar Volleyball League, defeated El Jaish in the semi-finals 2-0, while 21-time champions Arabi defeated Qatar League champions Police 2-0 in second semi-finals. The final is slated for 6.30pm today.

Rashid Masoud Jaralla and Sarah Mohamed clinched the men’s and women’s Emir Cup skeet gold medals while London Olympics bronze medallist Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah had to settle for silver. At the Losail Shooting Range yesterday, Jaralla upstaged al-Attiyyah and 2015 winner Khalid al-Muhannadi to win the gold. Jaralla, who was coming to the competitive shooting after a gap of nine months, qualified for the final in first position with 122 targets and maintained his supremacy in the gold medal round in  blustery conditions. In the end, Jaralla (45+8) beat al-Attiyyah (44+7) for the gold. Al-Muhannadi claimed bronze with 43. “I am very happy with the win today. I was coming after a nine-month break as I was dealing with some personal issues. I am happy to beat shooters like Nasser and Khalid in the Emir Cup as it is an achievement for me,” the 25-year-old Jaralla said. “I won many medals in Qatar before. For me, the most important thing was I showed that I have not lost any of my touchtouch,” said Jaralla.   The 47-year-old shooter and rally driver al-Attiyah, who took time from his busy rallying schedule to take part in the event, took silver. Al-Attiyah lauded the efforts of Jaralla, saying: “It was a very good victory for young Jaralla. I am happy for him as he has a bright future ahead of him.” Al-Attiyah, who crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge two weeks ago and got injured, was satisfied with his show yesterday. “I was not up to the mark today, but I am happy with my show considering I am carrying an injury. I’ve pain in my back. My coach advised me to skip it. But I said I won’t give up so quickly,” al-Attiyyah said. “I tried my best, but I wasn’t able to recover hundred percent. Anyway, it was a good round of shooting for me. It was good for me to reach the second place. I have lost some weight and now I’m worried about my fitness for the next week’s Sealine cross-country. Talking about his preparation, he said: “The level of the Qatari shooters is going up. It was a good competition and preparation for me ahead of some events. After the Sealine rally, I’ll go to compete in the Cyprus World Cup and then the Islamic Games in Baku.” In the women’s section Sarah stated slowly but once in the final she flourished in the windy conditions. “It was a great final, I guess... I shot 46 out of 60. It was a nice performance. Before the final, I and Reem were second behind Lulwa with 69 each. I’d never thought I’d win the title today. With each stage, I shot well and in the gold medal elimination, I managed to hit 10 out of 10 in the windy condition to claim the title. I’m very delighted with my performance,” Sarah said. Sarah was followed by the former Emir Cup junior champion Ammena al-Mansoori and Hanan Haji. The former Emir Cup junior champion Ameena shot 41 out of 60 to finish second was also happy with her performance, as she said: “It was tough competition for me. I tried my best and won the second place and I’m very proud of it. In 2014, I had won the junior title in the Emir Cup. So I’m really happy about this performance and the silver medal. This is the best result for me so far. I’m glad about my progress. This was my second event in the senior class. I’ll work hard and try to improve my results in the future competitions.” In men’s junior skeet, Abdulla Rashidan bagged the top prize. MM al-Khulaifi and HM al-Khulaifi claimed silver and bronze medals respectively.

Al Arabi completed a treble of domestic titles as they won the Qatar Cup yesterday. At the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee Indoor Hall in Aspire Zone, Al Arabi came on top against arch-rivals Al Rayyan in the two-hour long battle for supremacy, winning 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22 to pick their third title of the season. Al Arabi had won the Federation Cup and Super Cup at the start of the season. “It is a very big won for us after a disappointing league and GCC Championship. We played well today except in the second set where we were no match for Al Rayyan,” said Al Arabi coach Patrick Duflos. This is Arabi’s 11th victory against Al Rayyan in the Qatar Cup finals and first under Duflos. “I am very happy. We needed something like that and I am sure this win is going act as a catalyst for this squad in the Emir Cup,” the delighted Frenchman said.  Al Arabi took the keenly contested first set at 25-21, while the second set again turned out to be a see saw battle which Al Rayyan won by an identical score. However, Al Arabi bounced back to win the third and fourth to pocket the title. For Arabi, it has been a roller-coaster season so far. After the highs of the twin titles, they suffered a loss in form and could only finish third in the league and a dismal fifth in the GCC Clubs Championship. No wonder, there was a big shake-up within the team for the Qatar Cup as they brought in two professionals — America’s outside hitter Taylor Sander and Germany’s star spiker Gyorgy Grozer.  “It is a big victory for us, although we did not play that well. The second set was a strange one, somehow nothing was going our way. I also played bad in the set, but we bounced back in the subsequent ones to win the title,” said Sander, who was member of the bronze medal winner US team of the Rio Olympics. In the first, the initial proceedings saw both teams neck-and- neck until Arabi broke free to take a two point lead at 9-7. But Al Rayyan fought back to tie the score at 11-all. Al Arabi, however, once took the upper hand to take a 14-11 lead. Thereafter, Duflos’ side held the grip over the rallies and maintained a consistent two-point lead which they carried to the  end to win the first set. In the second set, Al Rayyan were determined to bounce back and took a runaway lead at 8- 3. Al Arabi, however, made a splendid recovery to tie the score at 11-all. From thereon, fortunes fluctuated with Al Rayyan having an upper hand for a brief period only to surrender the initiative to their rivals. In the end Al Rayyan pocketed the second set at 25-21.  In the third, Al Arabi determined to finish off proceedings, took a five point lead at 8-3. Al Rayyan clawed back to narrow the lead at 12-9. Al Arabi put up an all round display to increase their lead to seven points at 23-16.  Arabi then took the next two points to wrap the third at 25-17. Arabi continued where from they left off in the fourth set, taking an early 5-3 lead in the fifth. The defending champions had other thoughts as they came back strongly to tie the score at eight-all. From that stage the both teams fought hard for each point with the scores tied at 11-all, 14-all, until Al Arabi broke free to make it 15-13 and extended the lead to three points at 17-14. Carlos Schwanke’s side tried to make a fight and took a timeout with score reading 20-18 to stop their rivals in their tracks. However, Al Arabi were in no mood to allow any room to heir rivals. In the end, Al Arabi won 25-22 to win the title for 16th time and set off wild celebrations among their supporters.

Defending champions Al Rayyan are aiming to win their first title of the season by retaining the Qatar Cup when they take on arch-rivals Al Arabi in the final at the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee Indoor Hall in the Aspire Zone today. Rayyan coach Carlos Schwanke is very much aware of the tough task they have on their hands as emotions are sure to run high. “We know it will be a tough final against Arabi. The emotions will be high as two powerhouse clubs are taking part, but I am confident that we are ready for the title fight,” Schwanke said while talking to the media yesterday. Rayyan, who finished fourth in the Qatar Volleyball League, played three tough games in the last six days to qualify for the final and are raring to go. “It’s a final and it’s always a special game. We all play for the title and for that you have to give something extra. We have played some really tough games in the recent past, but we have to be mentally ready and give our 100 percent for the final,” the Brazilian said. Rayyan overcame Police 2-1 in the semifinal playoffs, while Arabi blanked El Jaish 2-0. Schwanke is delighted with the way his team fought back and found solutions for their on-court problems during the three-game semifinal play-offs. “I’m very happy with the team’s comeback and victory to move into the final. I liked the spirit that my team showed. We had some problems and made some adjustments. “The team has regained their touch during the play-offs against Police. We played like Al Rayyan play. Police are the league champions and were not an easy side. It was quite tough and now we’ll focus on another difficult match against Al Arabi,” said Schwanke. Talking about the service problem they had during the semifinals, Schwanke said, “The service has only one point and sometimes you have to take risk to win bigger points. I am confident that we will have no such issues in the final.” Rayyan came third in the recently concluded GCC Championship, while Arabi finished poor fifth. Al Arabi coach Patrick Duflos is also keen to win his first title for the club. “We are happy to be in the final. It is an important game and will be a difficult one. There will be some emotions on both the sides. We must be ready in our head to control the emotions to win it. I hope tomorrow will be a good day for us,” said Duflos, who was put in charge of the team midway through the league, in which they finished third. Arabi started off their season well by winning the Super Cup by defeating Rayyan and QVA Cup with a win over El Jaish.Arabi’s pro players, Gyorgy Grozer of Germany and Taylor Sander of the United States, are also hoping to finish on top. “It is very interesting to be in the final as finals are always something special. We have a very good team and hope to win tomorrow. I was here two years ago also… this is my second time in Qatar. The level of the game is very high in Qatar and I think it’s growing,” Grozer said. “I am excited to be in the final. It will be a high-level game and I hope we are able to put up a good show tomorrow,” Sander said.

Qatar’s Moosa Khalfan finished second as UAE’s Majid al-Balooshi won his maiden GCC Road Cycling Championship title yesterday at the Losail circuit. Al-Balooshi clocked 21:48.10s to comfortably defeat Khalfan by seven seconds after the 138km Katara-Losail race as Kuwait’s Abdul Hadil al-Azmi came third in the 19th edition of the championship. For the past decade, Yousif Mirza has been the man at the forefront of cycling in the Emirates. But yesterday at the Losial circuit, it was al-Balooshi who crossed the finish line first to win the title. “This is the first time that I’ve won the GCC title. It was a tough race on a windy day. But we have a good team and we controlled the race well today. In cycling, there is never one person winning anything. He has to depend a lot on his teammates, so the credit for my win goes to the entire team,” al-Balooshi said. Talking about the race, al-Balooshi added: “We started in Katara fast. We started to push after three kilometres. Our plan was to control the race first and then assess the situation before the dash for the medal. Bahrain looked good in the beginning as they had a good number of riders in the peloton. We started to attack after two or three break-away attempts. We kept launching our attacks to weaken the rivals. “Then on the final straight, the Kuwaiti and Qatari riders were the first to kick in. I was fourth to start the sprint but I managed to pass them to win the race,” the 30-year-old rider said. Khalfan’s second position is the only victory for the 10-member Qatari team. “I’m very happy with the silver medal. It is a good win for Qatar. This was a very difficult race for all of us. There was rain and wind, that kept changing directions, which made our job even more demanding,” Khalfan said. “I got separated from the peloton early in the race. I had to put in a great deal of effort to not only recover my way into the pack, but also find a good position before launching the dash for the line,” the 28-year-old rider added. Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) president Dr Mohamed al-Kuwari also felt that Qatar team was not strong at the moment. “Moosa won a good race today. But I feel we had a strong team in the past, but this time we are not that strong. UAE riders are very good and they have dominated the races, but we have some plans for our team and hopefully we will have a good team in the coming years,” said Dr al-Kuwari. Mirza, who won the Elite Individual Time Trial beating his brother Badr, was thrilled to see al-Balooshi on the top of the podium. “It’s a dream for me to see other Emiratis get on that podium,” Mirza, who failed to finish at the podium yesterday, said. “The development in cycling here over the past couple of years has been tremendous. It’s a huge leap. Our rulers all practice cycling regularly,” said Mirza, who took part in the Dubai Tour this year with the UAE-Abu Dhabi Professional Cycle Team.     

UAE riders made a clean sweep in the 19th GCC Road Cycling Championships yesterday, bagging all three gold medals on offer with Mirza brothers finishing one-two in the Elite Individual Time Trial (ITT). The 28-year-old rider Yousif Mirza, who spent two weeks training with his team in Italy in January, clocked 45.21 seconds to clinch the ITT gold ahead of his older brother Badr Mirza. Badr clocked 46.11s. Bahrain’s Sayed Ahmed Khalil came third with a timing of 47.19s.  UAE riders, who claimed three gold medals on the opening day of the championship, maintained their domination yesterday. Apart from Mirza brothers, their teammate Abdullah Abdulkareem and Abdullah Jassim won the Juniors Individual Time Trial and Cadets Individual Time Trial gold. Rashid Abdullah of UAE won the Junior’s silver medal. “It is nice to finish first and second with Yousif. I am proud of my team’s show on the first two days of the championship,” Badr said.   “It’s a proud moment to listen national anthem on the podium after Yousif’s victory,” said Badr, who is four years older than his brother, in his Instagram post yesterday. This not the first time Yousif has won in Qatar. He had won the overall classification triumph at the 2013 Tour of Al Zubarah — a 2-2 race on the UCI Asia Tour — among other notable performances in Doha. The Emirates’ top rider Yousif tasted a slice of history when he became the first Emirati cyclist to be part of a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Tour team, when a revamped UAE Team Emirates was unveiled ahead of the 2017 Abu Dhabi Tour. In 2013, Yousuf went on to win the Sharjah Cycling Tour and capped a fine season by coming first in the mountains classification at the Tour d’Algerie. However, his breakaway season came in 2015 when he bagged the silver medal at the Asian Road Race Cycling Championships to seal his spot at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, where the Emirati was not given a finishing classification due to exceeding the race’s time limit. Meanwhile, the UAE team comprising Badr Neerzra al-Hamadi, Muhamed Hasan al-Marwi, Jabir al -Mansuri and Ahmed al-Mansuri won the 46km Elite class team time trial title, the feature event of the opening day.  UAE also won gold when Umar Abdurrazzaq, Umar Salim, Rashid Ahmed and Khalil Essa won the 23km cadet class race and the 34.5km junior class race as Rashid Abdullah, Abdullah Abdul Karim, Mohamed Farooq and Hamd Abdullah took 46:12s to finish the job on Tuesday. Today, the 92km (eight laps) junior road race and 46km (four laps) cadet road races will be held at Lusail circuit. Tomorrow, the 138km elite road race will be held around Katara and Lusail.   DAY TWO RESULTS Elite Individual Time Trial 1. Yusif Mirza (UAE) 45.21 seconds 2. Badr Mirza (UAE) 46.11 seconds 3. Sayed Ahmed Khalil (Bahrain) 47.19 seconds Juniors Individual Time Trial 1 Abdullah Abdulkareem (UAE) 31.43 seconds 2. Rashid Abdullah (UAE) 31.58 seconds 3. Mohamed Ibrahim (Bahrain) 33.15 seconds Cadets Individual Time Trial 1. Abdullah Jassim (UAE) 16.09 seconds 2. Jassim Mohamed (Bahrain) 16.54 seconds 3. Al Hassan al-Momin (Saudi Arabia) 17.37 seconds.

Qatar’s first-ever 24-hour mountain bike race will be held on March 17. Rasen Sports organised endurance race, which will take the riders beyond their limits and inspire unbelievable camaraderie, will be held on specifically designed challenging 11km circuit at a private farm in Umm Jurn. “This is a different race, the first 24-hour bike race in Qatar and probably first in the region also, but we are not very sure about it and not claiming it. I came to know that the one such race was held in Dubai but it was cancelled. But ours will be the first one of its kind in Qatar. Hopefully we will do something similar next year in road cycling,” Rasen Sports’ Sheikh Abdullah al-Thani told Gulf Times. Talking about the circuit of the race, he said: “The challenge will attract participants to one of Qatar’s most untouched natural wonders. It will be different from all the other races you see, the riders will actually go between banana trees and date palms. There will be old houses as they will ride alongside old housing communities. There will be water puddles and sandy dunes also.” For this adventurous, exciting and demanding race, which will start on March 17 at 1pm, the registration process is on. Rasen Sports have been organising cycling race from the last couple of years in the country with the aim to make the biking a popular sport under the guidance of Sheikh Abdullah, who himself is a biker. “Since 2013, we have been sponsoring mountain bike events. We wanted to add something different to our calendar and that is the 24-hour competition. We want it to be family-oriented. It’s not only a race. There is camping. People will get to experience farmhouse life and connect with desert nature. It’s a very old farm. It is different from what you normally see in the desert. I am sure most participants wouldn’t have seen the farmhouse life I am talking about,” he said. The riders will have to plan their own strategy, when they want to take break and when they want to race. There winner of the face will be the team or rider that completes the most laps with the first lap after the clock has ticked over 24 hours counting to the result. “The riders have their targets to achieve, some aim to complete 80kms, while some experienced riders are aiming to complete 100kms. I am aiming at 80kms,” Sheikh Abdullah, who is going to participate in the race, said. Discussing, the scheduling of the event he said: “The reason we have it in March is because we sought suggestions from our family of riders. We saw into their requests. The other date that we could have gone for was in the month of January. Our races are scheduled well in advance, even going back to a year. We have to work with sponsors also. “It was very tight for us looking at the annual calendar. We had a race scheduled for March 10. We cancelled that to have this event on March 17. On March 11, we will have an off-road event also,” he added.

After below par performances in recent tournaments, defending champions Al Rayyan are aiming to bounce back in the 36th GCC Clubs Volleyball Championship which begins today at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. Rayyan finished third in the Arab Clubs Championship last month and fourth in the recently-concluded Qatar Volleyball League. “Finishing third in the Arab Clubs Championship was certainly not our target; we wanted to finish much higher,” said Karim, assistant coach of Al Rayyan. “We have added a few new players after the league. Another positive point is the return of Sulieman, our libero, from a six-month layoff due to injury. Hopefully, we will live up to the expectations,” said the assistant to Brazilian head coach Carlos Schwanke. Al Arabi, who finished third in the local league, is the second club from Qatar in the championship. They will take on Al Salam of Oman on the first day of the championship. Rayyan are two-time defending champions, while Arabi last won it in 2010, when the tournament was held in Muscat, Oman. Seven clubs from the region will be vying for the top place in the tournament, which will be played in a round-robin format, with the team with the maximum number of points emerging as the winner. Al Ahli and Dar Kulaib of Bahrain, Al Ain of UAE, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia are the other teams in the championship, which ends on March 17. Last year in Oman, three-time champions Rayyan defeated Al Arabi in straight sets to win the title. The two are set to renew their rivalry at the regional competition when they clash on March 11. In the Arab Clubs Championship in Manama, Rayyan had maintained a clean sheet in the group stages and beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Wahda 16-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-16 in the quarter-final before going down 23-25, 17-25, 20-25 to eventual champions Al Ahli in the semifinal. Rayyan defeated Al Salam 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17 in the play-off to finish third. This was Rayyan’s second podium finish in the championship history. They were runners-up in the 2012 edition held in Lebanon. Qatar’s El Jaish finished second in the same championship, going down 25-27, 28-26, 25-21, 21-25, 13-15 to Bahrain’s Al Ahli in the final.

Qatar riders are all set to show their mettle against their regional rivals in GCC Road Cycling Championships which will be held from March 13-17 around Doha. This is a major event on the domestic cycling calendar as more than 150 riders from across the region will feature in the 19th edition of the championship. Qatar is fielding a 10-rider team in the elite, junior and cadet groups. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait are the other participating nations. “Our riders have been preparing well for this event. They had an extensive summer training camp in Europe last year. After that they featured in numerous events at the regional and Asian level in the winter. I would say our riders are full of confidence,” Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) president Dr Mohamed al-Kuwari said, while addressing a pre-event press conference. “It’s true that team from the UAE is strong. They have good riders but at the same time I would say Qatari cyclists are in very good form. We are confident they would do well,” he said. There will be a technical inspection on Monday with the actual races starting on Tuesday. The Team Trial is on Tuesday in the Youth, U-23 and Elite classes. On Wednesday, there will be the Individual Time Trial in all three classes. The road competition will be held on Thursday, across all the three classes. Friday, March 17, is reserved for the biggest contest of the event - when the Elite Class will compete against each other. “We will be competing in all the classes. It is a very important tournament. We are pleased to be in this position as we give our riders the chance to compete against the best in the region,” al-Kuwari said. “At the same time, QCF also gets the chance to stage a quality event and take the message on cycling and healthy living all over the country and the region,” he said. Q-Auto are the official sponsors of the event. “We are happy to have our sponsors - Q-Auto, the official Volkswagen dealer in Qatar - backing the championship. We thank them for their support,” al-Kuwari said. “This is a championship for the amateurs and the professionals to compete side-by-side. We are thrilled to be a part of this championship. We are honoured to be supporting this championship. We are pleased to be a part of such a top-class event and to support Qatar’s great sport ambitions,” Q Auto general manager Ahmed Shariefi said. Q-Auto joined the QCF when Qatar staged the UCI World Road Championship last year. QCF general secretary Jamal al-Kuwari said, “This is an event we have been preparing for quite a while. Our riders have trained well and feel confident. We expect them to do well with positive results.” Sheikh Abdulla al-Thani of Rasen Sports was also present during the press conference. QATAR SQUAD Elite *Abdullah Salem Afif – Individual Time Trial + Road Race *Adbelrahman Selem Jarboua – Road Race *Mossa Khalfan Said – Road Race *Khaleel Alrehman Abduljanan – Road Race *Khalid Elbardiny – Road Race Junior *Mohamed Farhan al-Farizi – Road Race *Khaled Saber G Hammouda – Road Race *Mohamed Eihab Abougabarah – Race Race Cadet *Naif Alaa I Baltaji – Road Race *Bilal Haitham A Alsaadi – Road Race Coach: Aziz Merzoug SCHEDULE March 13 18:00 – Licence control 19:00 – Team managers’ meeting March 14 08:30 – TTT Cadet (23 kms) - Losail 09:30 – TTT Junior (34.5 kms) – Losail 10:30 – TTT Elite (46 kms) – Losail March 15 09:30 – Road Race Junior (69 kms) Losail March 16 08:30 – ITT Cadet (11.5 kms) - Losail 09:30 – ITT Junior (23 kms) – Losail 10:30 – ITT Elite (34.5 kms) – Losail March 17 08:30 – Road Race Cadet (34.5 kms) – Losail – Katara - Losail 13:00 –Road Race Elite (101 kms) – Losail – Katara - Losail

Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah fired an early warning for the 2020 Tokyo Games by winning his first Qatar Open medal yesterday. The Qatari sports icon, a bronze medallist in skeet shooting at the 2012 London Olympics and also a two-time Dakar Rally winner, won the silver after losing a keenly contested final 58-55 to Frenchman Antony Terras at the Lusail Shooting Range yesterday. Russia’s Anton Astakhov claimed the bronze. “It is fantastic to win a silver medal on home range. I had promised HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani (President of Qatar Olympic Committee) after we returned from Rio 2016 Games that I will win another Olympic medal for Qatar. Today’s win indicates that I am on the right path,” said al-Attiyah, who was taking part in his first international shooting event after last year’s Olympic Games. Rallying and marksmanship are not easy to combine, but al-Attiyah won the bronze — only the fourth individual medal Qatar have won at the Olympics — in London after only 10 days of practice. He is now looking forward to Tokyo after disappointment at the Rio Games. “I have cut down on a number of races to concentrate on shooting for the Tokyo Games,” the 45-year-old added. On his participation at the upcoming shooting World Cup, al-Attiyah appeared up-beat for the event in the Indian capital of Delhi. “Yes, my good showing in the Qatar Open Shotgun has certainly given me a confidence boost. I am leaving for India tomorrow,” the ace shooter informed. “I have been to six Olympic Games (Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio) and won the bronze in London. It will be a dream for me to (also) compete in Tokyo… It will be my seventh Olympics,” the 12-time Middle East Rally Championship winner said. Al-Attiyah, who just about managed to get past the qualifying stage through shoot-out, came all guns blazing in the final round to finish second. He made it past the qualifying stage along with Ben Llewellin of Great Britain after Saif bin Futais of UAE got eliminated in the three-way shoot-out. All three finished with identical score of 121 in the qualifying round, resulting in the shoot-out. In the final round, Terras, al-Attiyah, Astakhov, al-Muhannadi and Llewellin were in fine form in the first round to register a perfect score. But as the competition went ahead, first Qatar’s Khaled al-Muhannadi flattered, followed by Llewellin, leaving Terras, al-Attiyah and Astakhov to fight for the medals. For hosts Qatar, it was their second silver medal of the nine-day championship which concluded yesterday. In the final round, Terras came with a near-perfect display, missing just two targets in the final round on way to the gold. It was the third gold medal for the 31-year-old Frenchman out of the five he competed in. “The conditions were difficult for shooting. It was quite windy. But due credit to all the shooters for keeping their focus and getting good scores,” said the Frenchman, who finished as winner in the skeet event at the same championship in 2013 and last year. “This range is very nice, at least for me! It’s fantastic, I love shooting here. I think I have developed a special relationship with the Qatar shooting range,” added Terras, who also won the gold at last year’s Military Shooting Championship at the same venue. Terras is not going to the World Cup in India, which starts tomorrow, on account of funds crunch. “I am not going to New Delhi. My federation has no money to pay for my expenses,” said the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medallist. With the Olympics three years away and no quota issue to deal with, Terras said he will be spending more time with his family. “I am not taking part in many events this year as it is not an Olympic year,” the shooter from Marseille said. Great Britain’s Jack Fairclough won the junior men’s skeet gold, with Kazakhstan’s Eduard Yechshenko and David Pochivalov taking the silver and bronze, respectively. A function was organised yesterday in which the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSAA) secretary general Majid al-Naimi felicitated the Qatar national team members who won medals at the recently concluded Arab Shooting Championship in Kuwait.