DAY before was crazy busy for sports administrators and fans alike and nobody’s complaining. Al Sadd battling Al Duhail in a football blockbuster was clearly the headline of the day. Al Sadd triumphed 4-1 in emphatic fashion but overall the football fans couldn’t have wished for a better way to spend 90 minutes watching sports action. The same say, Al Arabi’s volleyball squad battled their way to Amir Cup glory in their, beating Police in five exciting games. The match watched by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani and the QOC hierarchy along with fans at Indoor Hall of the Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) Headquarters.
Also on Saturday, Al Sadd basketball squad got the better of Al Wakrah in the Amir Cup semi-final at Al Gharafa Sports Hall Club Indoor Hall where Al Arabi beat Al Ahli in the other last-four clash played in front of excited fans though in limited numbers. In another sporting event on Saturday, Qatar’s best young talent strut out in great style when they featured in Round Two of the dressage competitions of the Longines Qatar Equestrian Hathab Series at the Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) Indoor Hall in Al Rayyan area. The young riders - given the platform to become quality show jumpers in the future - delivered promising performances, according Ali Al Rumaihi, Qatar’s Olympian rider. On Saturday, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation also staged the Fourth Round of the hugely popular Qatar National Baja, an off-road spectacle that he held in the deserts of the country.
With a super busy sports weekend coming to a close on Saturday, the Qatar Tennis and Squash Federation kicked-off its flagship squash event - the Qatar Classic - on Sunday. The seven-day squash event is a premier tournament on the PSA World Tour and Doha remains a popular destination for the world’s best event. This week’s event is being broadcast right around the world as the players battle for top honours. With a total prize bag of $175,000, the event will feature 46 players, including the world’s top-8 among which are World No.1 Mohammed El Shorbagy, defending champion and World No. 2 Ali Farag, 2016 champion and World No. 3 Karim Adbel Gawad.
The sports scene will continue to witness more events in the coming days and weeks in Qatar. Thanks largely to QOC’s astute planning and implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols, Doha has been able to put together top-notch sports events in real quick time. Sports fans in Qatar are smiling when COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked sports calendars around the world in 2020.
