Category: Athletic

Doha: The Qatar Stars League (QSL) announced on Wednesday the preparations for the Qatar Cup 2024.

This came during a press conference held at QSL’s headquarters in Al Bidda Tower in the presence of Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication at QSL Hassan Rabiah Al Kuwari, and Director of Competitions Department at QSL Ahmed Salman Al Adsani, in addition to representatives of media outlets.

Al Kuwari said: “The QSL attaches great importance to this prestigious tournament through arrangements in cooperation with all parties concerned, partners and competing clubs, in order to organize it in a distinctive manner at the technical and organizational levels.” He stated that the semifinals would be held at the Khalifa International Stadium and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on May 1, and the final would be at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Duhail Club on May 4.

The semi-final teams and other details will be decided later, after the end of the league championship. He pointed out that all partners wer
e working hand in hand despite the time constraints and were ready for all scenarios.

“We’ve begun the promotion, marketing and publicity campaigns for the tournament in addition to the Trophy Tour stops at the headquarters of sponsoring companies as per specific schedule. The tour will include visits to the clubs competing in the tournament and a number of different locations”, Al Kuwari said.

Regarding match tickets, he confirmed that tickets for the semi-finals would be up for sale immediately after the end of the final round of the league championship and there would be complete coordination with the clubs in view of the expected large crowd turnout.

The match program also includes the organization of a number of different events, and this is also a new opportunity for the fans to come to the stadiums and support their teams, in addition to winning valuable prizes on the sidelines of the final match, the details of which will be announced later.

Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication
at QSL concluded his statements by saying “I hope that well succeed in presenting a distinguished tournament at all technical and organizational levels. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the sponsors, partners, supporters and media outlets.” On his part, Al Adsani said: “We emphasize that our preparations are continuing at all levels in order for the tournament to emerge in a distinguished manner and there is coordination with the clubs and all parties concerned.” He pointed out that the competitions will be held at three stadiums and inspection tours of the stadiums have been held.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan advanced to the AFC Champions League final for the first time after beating Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai FC 5-4 on penalties in the second leg of the semi-final on Wednesday following a 3-3 draw on aggregate.

A pulsating first half at Yokohama International Stadium saw Asahi Uenaka’s double and a goal from Anderson Lopes put the Japanese side 3-1 up on aggregate, the AFC website reported.

However, a Matheus Sales header and a penalty from Darijan Bojanic brought the aggregate scoreline level at the interval as the hosts were also reduced to 10 men after Takumi Kamijima was dismissed.

With no further goals in the second half or extra time, the tie went to penalties where Eduardo struck the winning spot-kick after Yokohama goalkeeper William Popp had saved from Kim Min-woo as Yokohama booked a date with the United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain FC in next month’s final.

Yokohama made three changes from the side that started the 1-0 defeat in Korea last week, with the big news being the return f
rom injury of Brazilian winger Elber, while Matheus Sales for Ko Seung-beom was the only change made by Ulsan head coach Hong Myung-bo.

The game kicked off in heavy rain with the hosts on the front foot from the start as Yan Matheus cut inside from the right and curled wide of the far post inside five minutes.

And the pressure told when the opening goal arrived in the 13th minute. Nam Tae-hee miscontrolled a Yan Matheus pass from the right but, after a mix up in the Ulsan defence, Uenaka pounced onto the loose ball before coolly finishing into the bottom right corner.

Harry Kewell’s side kept pushing forward and Lopes called Jo Hyeon-woo into action when his fizzing shot from distance forced the Ulsan goalkeeper to get down low to his left and push wide.

The second goal arrived in the 21st minute following more good work from Yan Matheus, who threaded the ball to Lopes on the edge of the area and the Brazilian took one touch with his right foot before firing low and hard into the bottom left corner to dou
ble his side’s advantage.

Incredibly, the hosts went three up in the 30th minute when Ulsan lost possession in their own half, allowing Nam to find Uenaka who spun away from his marker and planted a delightful effort from 20 yards into the top-left corner.

But just as it appeared like the J1 League side were going to cruise into the final, Ulsan gave themselves hope in the 35th minute when Matheus Sales headed Lee Dong-gyeong’s inswinging corner from the right into the back of the net.

The visitors then drew level on aggregate three minutes before the interval when Um Won-sang raced into the area and when he attempted to cut inside Kamijima, the ball struck the sliding defender’s arm and the referee pointed to the spot before showing the Marinos man red.

Substitute Bojanic, who was introduced just before the first goal, made no mistake from the spot, sending goalkeeper Popp the wrong way to make it 3-2 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.

In an action-packed opening 45 minutes, there was still time for Lee
to rattle the crossbar before half-time with the tide having completely turned and Ulsan dominating.

Bojanic thought he had added a second soon after the restart only for the goal to be ruled out following a VAR review as Gustav Ludwigson, in an offside position, was adjudged to have obstructed the view of Popp.

A lovely give-and-go between Lee and Bojanic then set the former free in the box, but Popp was up to the challenge to push wide for a corner.

Yokohama were next to have a goal ruled out when Yan Matheus was flagged offside after heading Katsuya Nagato’s chipped cross into the back of the net shortly after the hour.

Ludwigson should have netted Ulsan’s third with six minutes remaining but headed wide from just a few yards out after being teed up by substitute Martin Adam, before Adam fired wide from distance soon after as the visitors sought to avoid an additional 30 minutes.

Bojanic was inches away from scoring with three minutes remaining as he connected with Ludwigson’s centre only to see his e
ffort rebound back off the post as Yokohama continued to survive.

With the game into the second period of extra time, Yokohama substitute Kota Mizunuma called Jo into action with a low drive which the Korean custodian did well to push wide.

Ulsan’s Kim then had another goal ruled out for offside with five minutes remaining as the game went to penalties.

After both sides scored their first four spot-kicks, Popp saved from Kim allowing Eduardo to step up and score the winning penalty as Yokohama advanced to their first final following an AFC Champions League classic.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: April 23 – Uzbekistan defeated Vietnam 3-0 in the last game of Group D of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday.

With this win, the 2018 champions will play Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals on Friday while Vietnam, who also advanced despite the defeat, will meet Iraq.

The top three finishers directly qualify to the Summer Olympic Games (Paris 2024), while the fourth-placed side will play an AFC-CAF play-off match against Guinea, on May 9.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Dubai, April 23 – The official opening ceremony of the 1st GCC Youth Games UAE 2024 was held Tuesday evening at the Dubai Opera.

Held until May 2 under the theme, “Our Gulf is One… Our Youth are Promising”, the inaugural GCC Youth Games features the participation of 3,500 male and female athletes competing in 24 sports.

The opening ceremony was attended by HE Second Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, HE Secretary General of the QOC Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain and HE Director of the Sport Sector at the QOC Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al-Thani, in addition to the Qatari delegation participating in the GCC Youth Games UAE 2024.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Jeddah: The Saudi Table Tennis Paralympic Team excelled at the Jordan International Para Championship, securing two gold medals, seven silvers, and one bronze.

Its accomplishment further cements the team’s status as a significant sports force, showcasing the players’ commitment, dedication, and hard work in training and preparing for this important sporting event.

Saudi Table Tennis Federation president Dr. Abdullah Al-Bar commented on this occasion, saying, “This outstanding achievement and these fantastic results reflect the determination and dedication of our players.

They strengthen our aspirations to develop and enhance Paralympic table tennis in the Kingdom. We are proud of their accomplishments and encourage them to continue achieving more successes in the future.”

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh: Al-Hilal soccer team of Saudi Arabia was eliminated from the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League in the semi-finals, after losing to its UAE counterpart, Al-Ain, on aggregate 4-5.

Despite winning today’s match 2 – 1, Al-Hilal lost in favor of Al-Ain on aggregate as it received a humilating defeat of 2 -4 in the away match.

Accordingly, Al-Ain awaits the winner of the semi-final between Yokohama of Japan and Ulsan of South Korea, scheduled to play tomorrow in Japan.

Source: Saudi Press Agency