H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President, and QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain attending the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, yesterday.
Doha: Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani attended the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as flag bearers Tala Abujbara and Mohammed Al Rumaihi led the national contingent during the athletes parade at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, yesterday.
H E Sheikh Joaan was accompanied by the QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain as the opening ceremony was also attended many other dignitaries including the Emperor of Japan Naruhito.
Team Qatar, which includes a total of 15 athletes, also started their campaign at the Games yesterday with rower Tala participating in women’s single sculls, clocking 8:06.29 for a fifth place. She will get a second chance to display her skills today.
By participating at the Sea Forest Waterway, Tala made history becoming the first Qatari rower to compete at Olympics.
A huge honour to represent Qatar: Tala
The 29-year-old said representing Qatar at the Olympic Games is a big honour.
“It feels amazing. When I woke up this morning, I was just really excited, more excited than nervous. And yeah, I raced at the Olympics,” Tala said yesterday.
“It’s been a dream of mine for many years now. So I have nothing but kind of positive energy.”
About the conditions during her event, Tala said: “The weather was the best we’ve had since we arrived over our training days. Not too many waves today, a bit of cross headwind at the end, but I can’t complain too much.”
She said becoming a joint flag bearer with Al Rumaihi for Qatar was a proud moment for her.
“I’m extremely proud. It’s a huge honour. I never thought it would be possible. I’m very humbled by the opportunity,” she added.
Cherif and Tijan to begin campaign tomorrow
Meanwhile, Qatar’s beach volleyball duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan are gearing up to open their Olympic campaign tomorrow. They will play against Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson of Switzerland in the opening match.
The pair continued their training session at the Shiokaze Park.
Qatar’s judoka Ayoub Al Idrisi will also be seen in action tomorrow at Nippon Budokan Complex.
