HE Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Qatar and Asian athletics federations and deputy president of the IAAF, crowned “the champions of Al Sadd” winners of the Qatar Indoor Athletics Cup in the open category.
The competition was held on the track and field of the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence from 6-8 January, with the participation of the nine Qatari clubs affiliated with the federation – Al Rayyan, Al Sadd, Qatar SC, Al Arabi, Al Jaish, Al Wakrah, Al Gharafa, Al Khor and Al Ahli – and as usual the competition saw excellence and brilliance from Al Sadd, who continued their dominance of the new 2013-2014 season’s championships. Al Sadd took first place with 107 points, followed by the formidable Al Rayyan in second with 64 points, Al Khor in third with 46 points, Al Jaish fourth with 41 points, Al Ahli level on the same 41 points, Al Gharafa seventh with 38 points, Qatar SC eighth with 31 points, and finally Al Arabi ninth with 27 points. The competition was attended by board members Abdulhakeem Al Amri and Mai Al Mohammadi, head of the throws department Yacoub Abdullah, and head of public relations Rashed Al Ansari, alongside a group of department heads from the participating clubs and large crowds who followed the strong competition between the clubs.
Federation president crowns the winners
Following the conclusion of the competition, amid scenes of Al Sadd celebration, HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, chairman of the board, presented the prized trophy to Al Sadd’s chief coach and the players’ spiritual father, Captain Hamdi Awadallah, while Captain Abu Al Hamad, Al Rayyan’s chief coach, received the runner-up trophy, and Captain Rashid Al Sousi, Al Khor’s chief coach, received the third-place trophy, amid great joy from the three teams crowned in the top three places.
Major General Al Hamad: Al Sadd’s dominance is deserved
Major General Dahlan Al Hamad, chairman of the board, described Al Sadd’s dominance of the season’s championships as logical and deserved, given the attention and support the club receives from the board, and by contrast the other clubs’ inability to keep pace with Al Sadd on the track and field. He congratulated Al Sadd on their achievements and excellence, wishing the rest of the clubs would follow Al Sadd’s example and work to correct their situation in order to return to the competitive race, stressing that broader competition would enrich Qatari athletics, given that the clubs are the true factory and feeder system for the national teams, and that this all flows into the river of sporting development, benefiting everyone. In closing, Al Hamad repeated his congratulations to Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Al Khor for taking the top three places, wishing the rest of the clubs better luck in future track and field championships.
Al Sadd’s stars shine
The competition proved strong and exciting right to the end, marked by a competitive spirit among the national and professional stars of the participating clubs, with some clubs bringing in a fair number of prominent Gulf champions who added much to the competitive atmosphere, notably stars from Oman’s “red” team. Al Sadd’s stars, meanwhile, dominated and took most of the top places in both the field and track events. Below are the full results.
High jump: first place Al Sadd’s Muammar Essa Barshim (2.15m)
800m: first place went to Al Jaish’s Benson Kiplagat Seri, clocking 1:49.93
60m: first place Al Wakrah’s Barakat Al Harthi (6.78 seconds)
Long jump: first place Al Sadd’s Jengseli Amica (7.11m)
400m: first place Al Khor’s Ahmed Mubarak Al Saadi (48.72 seconds)
1500m: first place Al Jaish’s Benson Kiplagat Seri (3:44.57)
Triple jump: first place Al Rayyan’s Mohammed Yousuf Salman
Shot put: first place Al Rayyan’s Khalid Habash Al Suwaidi (17.03m)
Pole vault: first place Al Sadd’s Rashed Saqr Al Ali (4.40m)
60m hurdles: first place Al Jaish veteran Khalid Mohammed Salman Al Amer (8.69 seconds)
3000m: Al Sadd’s Alex Kibet (8:03.29)
4x400m relay: first place – Al Rayyan team (3:21.98)
Combined event: first place Al Ahli’s Abdulrahman Hamdi Abdulrahim (4032 points).
