Al Khor sprang the biggest surprise of the new season’s start for Qatar athletics when it was crowned, with full merit, champion of the cadets’ cross-country championship held at Aspire Park, leaving the other places to clubs that had previously won it, such as Al Rayyan, Al Sadd and Al Jaish. This was not the only surprise, as major clubs took places that were not expected, indicating that the new season will be eventful in every sense of the word, even as Al Jaish continued collecting cross-country titles after its stars succeeded in the juniors category having already succeeded in the pee-wees category
Abdulhakim Al Omari, athletics federation board member and head of the technical committee, crowned the champions and clubs alongside senior coaches and department heads. Abdulhakim affirmed that the new season had begun strongly for all the clubs and that competition would be far greater than in past seasons, with a number of clubs entering the ranks of full contenders and reaching the podium. Abdulhakim wished all clubs successful work and the achievement of full excellence and their desired goals, since the clubs’ development confirms the development of Qatar athletics
Returning to the juniors’ cross-country, Al Jaish succeeded in claiming the title after collecting 38 points, ahead of Al Gharafa in second with 51 points and Al Khor in third with 52 points, while Al Sadd came fourth in a heavyweight surprise, having collected titles over many long years, with 59 points, Qatar SC came fourth with 64 points, Al Ahli sixth with 85 points, Al Wakrah seventh with 92 points, and Al Arabi eighth with 98 points, while Al Rayyan took part in the individual event only
In the individual standings, Al Jaish’s champion Idris Moussa finished first, Al Gharafa’s champion Abdulrahman Saeed second, Qatar SC’s champion Mohammed Abdi third, Al Sadd’s champion Ibrahim Bakhsh fourth, Al Arabi’s Saad Ibrahim fifth, Al Khor’s Ebada Ibrahim Abdullah sixth, Al Khor’s champion and our national team’s Abdalelah Haroun, returning from injury, seventh, Al Jaish’s champion Ahmed Ali eighth, Qatar SC’s champion Ahmed Khalid ninth, and Al Gharafa’s champion Amr Tawfiq tenth
Al Khor champion in cadets’ cross-country
Al Khor’s stars pulled off the biggest surprise, claiming the title after a fierce contest with Al Ahli and Al Arabi. Al Khor’s stars took first place with 47 points, Al Ahli came second with 56 points, Al Arabi third with 66 points, while Al Jaish came fourth with 71 points, Al Sadd fifth with 82 points, Al Gharafa sixth with 94 points, while Al Rayyan came seventh with 108 points, Al Shamal eighth with 114 points, Al Wakrah ninth with 121 points, and Qatar SC last with 135 points
In the standings, Al Jaish’s champion Ziyad Khalid Al Sawy finished first, Al Ahli’s champion Yousef Mohammed Ali second, Al Khor’s champion Mohammed Adel third, Al Arabi’s champion Abdulrahman Al Sayed fourth, Al Sadd’s champion Mohammed Hassan Suleiman fifth, Qatar SC’s champion Mohammed Haroun sixth, Al Shamal’s champion Niaz Kon seventh, Al Gharafa’s champion Mohammed Asaad eighth, Al Arabi’s champion Hussein Fayez ninth, and Al Sadd’s champion Mohammed Al Bashir tenth
Naeem Hammad, head of the athletics department at Al Khor club, expressed his great happiness at winning the new season’s first title, saying the long work and great support from HE the club’s president contributed to reaching full excellence, and that the goal is a constant presence in the top places, especially given the presence of talent and everyone’s determination to honour the club and support Qatar athletics. He affirmed that this season’s championships will see much rivalry and excitement and that everyone is now in contention for the titles, unlike in past years
