Mohammad Saleh (right) of Afghanistan and Mohamed Aziz Azami, President of the Afghanistan Snooker and Billiards Federation pose for a picture at the Qatar Billards and Snooker Federation Hall in Doha yesterday.   RIGHT: Mohammad Saleh of Afghanistan aims for a shot during his Group A league match against Firas Kamil Shaba of Iraq at the Second Asian Snooker 6-Red Championship. Pict

Players taking part in the Second Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship practice at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF) Hall in Doha, yesterday. The championship begins today and the final will be held on May 27. Players from 17 countries are taking part in the Second Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship. The individual event will be preceeded by the team championship which begins on Ma

Doha: Ahmed Saif entered the history books by becoming the first snooker player from  Qatar to turn professional. The 29-year-old was among the four players to make it through Q School qualifying event held at Sheffield, England, last week to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour for the next two years. Saif, beat Jamie Clarke 4-1 in the final round with a top break of 57 to

Qatar football team players train at Aspire Academy yesterday.  Coach Fahad Thani’s side is gearing up for the two remaining matches of their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Qatar are in fourth place in Group A, Asian Zone, qualifying phase behind Uzbekistan, Korea and Iran. The fifth side in the group, Lebanon is at the bottom of the points table. On June 4, Qatar host

Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani gives a speech before the awards are given out at the Sport Excellence Day ceremony at Katara yesterday.  DOHA: Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), the country’s governing sports body, hosted a glittering ceremony to honour the best athletes’, sports officials’, institutions’, governme

Five young football fans from Indonesia pose for a picture after Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and Ooredoo announced a new initiative at a press conference in Doha yesterday. Young football fans from Qatar, Palestine, Indonesia, Iraq,  Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait and Maldives were present at the press conference.   DOHA: Young football fans spoke of their delight in meet

Khalfan Ibrahim (left) of Al Sadd, winner of the Player of the Year award, receives his trophy from Qatar Football Association (QFA) President, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, at a glittering QFA Awards ceremony held yesterday at Aspire Dome. Khalfan overcame stiff competition from two other nominees, Al Sadd team-mate Raul and Al Khor’s Brazilian star Madison to clinch

Pavel Nedobity from Czech Republic in action at the third round of the Qatar National Sprint Championship at Losail International Circuit on Friday night. A total of 11 cars took part in this round in four different classes. Nedobity with a Lotus Exige in the class 3M won the third round. Pavel, also the winner in the previous rounds, leads the championship with 75 points. Peter De Vido from

DOHA: Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), the country’s governing sports body, will host a ceremony to honour the best athletes’, sports officials’, institutions’, government and non-government organisations’ at the Sport Excellence Day 2013, which will be held on May 21. The prestigious annual event, which will be held at Katara, building No. (12) in the Cultural V

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), presents a memento to Sebastian Coe at QOC headquarters in Doha.   DOHA: Sebastian Coe, the man who managed the highly successful Olympic Games in London last year, has hailed the sports renaissance in Qatar and also applauded the country’s pioneering ‘Schools Olympic Progr

Alex Cudlin negotiates a bend during the free practice session of the fifth round of Qatar International Road Racing Championship (QIRRCH) at Losail International Circuit yesterday. RIGHT: Qatar’s Abdulaziz Abdulla  in action at the Qatar National Road Racing Championship at Losail yesterday. Doha:  Alex Cudlin clocked the fastest time in the qualifying session of Qatar I

Kim Collins (in yellow) of St Kitts and Nevis poses for a picture with Aspire Academy athletes in Doha yesterday. The 2003 World Champion in 100m gave advice to the students during his tour at Aspire Academy. BY RIZWAN REHMAT DOHA: Former 100m World Champion Kim Collins has urged Aspire Academy youngsters to make the most of their opportunities, saying the world’s biggest indoo

  DOHA: In 2004, at age 22 Andreas Thorkildsen dared to fight against javelin throw giants likes Jan Zelenzy and Steve Backley at the Athens Olympic Stadium and not only he stood on an equal footing but he also managed to add his name to the list of honour which features all Olympic Games gold medalists. Yesterday, in Doha at age 31 the Norwegian two-times Olympic Champion came fac

  DOHA: Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), the country’s governing sports body,  will organise the ‘Sport Excellence Day 2013’ event at Katara on May 21.  The annual sports gala will be organised to honour the best athletes, sport officials, institutions and government and non-government organisations for their contribution in boosting the sport movement dur

Doha: A two-day symposium titled ‘The History of Doping and Anti-Doping’ that will explore the historical, cultural, and scientific aspects of doping opens here today. Anti Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ) and Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum are organising the symposium at the Auditorium of Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. The symposium will also mull the establishment of anti-doping

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary General, addressing faculty members and students of National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Mohammad Bin Ali Al Noaimi - the Ambassador of Qatar in Bulgaria, Petar Stoychev Minister of Physical Education and Sports of Bulgaria, Stefka Kostadinova, President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, and Prof Pe

COMMERCE, Georgia: The hard work is beginning to pay off for Khalid alBalooshi, the second-year driver for the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel team, the two-time World Championship team owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani.  The Dubai native reached the semifinals near Houston, Texas last weekend, and the team continues to improve. This weekend’s 33rd annual Summit Raci

Qatar Under-19 team along with Qatar Cricket Association (QCA) President MA Shahid (front row, centre) and General Secretary Manzoor Ahmed (second right) pose for a picture. Also seen in the picture are Gul Mohammad Khan Jadoon (Head of Domestic Cricket), Mukhar Ahmad (Senior Coach), Amjad Baig (Coach), Mohammad Akram (Personal Relation Officer), Syed Hassan Raza (Technical Adviser) an

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah (right) and Rally Driver Abdulla Al Kuwari pose for a picture. QMMF have pledged their support for Al Kuwari, who will be taking part in the Jordan Rally from May 9 to 11. The Jordan leg is the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. Qatar and Kuwait have hosted the first and second rounds resp