Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and IAAF vice-president, crowned Al Jaish champions of the Qatar Cup for junior athletics for the 2015-2016 season, held on the field and track of the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence’s outdoor venue from 17-18 April, with the participation of the ten Qatari clubs affiliated with the federation — Al Rayyan, Al Sadd, Qatar SC, Al Arabi, Al Jaish, Al Wakrah, Al Gharafa, Al Khor, Al Ahli and Al Shamal — in addition to the participation of the girls’ athletics training centre. As usual, the event saw an exciting battle among the top three clubs, Al Jaish, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan, and Al Jaish’s athletes managed to settle the championship in their favour, ending Al Sadd’s twelve-year monopoly of the Qatar Cup. Al Jaish’s men took first place and top spot with a total of 152 points, with Al Sadd runners-up on 120.5 points, Al Rayyan third with 116 points, Al Gharafa fourth with 102 points, Al Khor fifth with 71 points, Qatar SC sixth with 63 points, Al Ahli seventh with 57 points, Al Arabi eighth with 44 points, and finally Al Wakrah ninth with 24.5 points. The competitions were attended by Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, the federation’s secretary general, Khamis Mubarak Al Kuwari, Al Jaish’s secretary general, Abdulrahman Al Nubi, a board member, and Mai Al Mohammadi, a board member and director of the women’s training centre, alongside a host of heads of the participating clubs’ athletics departments, with large crowds following the closing competitions from the stands of Aspire Academy’s outdoor stadium.
After the final day’s competitions ended, and amid the great joy shown by the athletes of the three clubs that took the top three places, Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, chairman of the athletics federation’s board, presented the championship trophy and first-place award to Khamis Mubarak Al Kuwari, Al Jaish’s secretary general, while Al Sadd’s head coach and the athletes’ father figure, Captain Hamdi Awadallah, received the runners-up trophy, and Al Rayyan’s head coach, Abu Al Hamad, received the third-place trophy.
