The start of the new 2015/2016 season for Qatar athletics saw major surprises and excitement among the clubs taking part in the first championships, as Al Rayyan’s stars managed to overtake Al Sadd’s stars in the junior cross-country championship, while Al Jaish claimed the pee-wees title with full merit. The exciting start undoubtedly promises a strong season full of rivalry and competition for titles among all the clubs. Yaqoub Yousef, deputy head of the technical committee, crowned the winners, along with Dr Jabbar Al Kaabi, the federation’s technical expert, in addition to the attendance of a number of department heads. What stood out, however, was the large turnout from all the clubs, which reflects great readiness for the new season, and it became clear that competition will be far greater than in past seasons, especially with clubs entering the race for titles or top places
In the junior cross-country championship, held at Aspire Park with all ten clubs taking part, Al Rayyan finished first with 46 points, Al Sadd second with 48 points, Al Gharafa third with 66 points, Al Jaish fourth with 67 points, Al Ahli fifth with 89 points, Al Khor sixth with 93 points, Al Arabi seventh with 95 points, Al Wakrah eighth with 96 points, Qatar SC ninth with 103 points, and Al Shamal tenth with 160 points
In the individual event, Al Rayyan’s champion Mohanad Khamis finished first, Al Gharafa’s champion Muhtadi Fadlallah second, Al Sadd’s champion Hafez Haidar Hassan third, while Al Gharafa’s champion Mahdi Ali Anan came fourth, Al Rayyan’s champion Abdullah Mubarak fifth, Al Ahli’s champion Mohammed Abdulfattah sixth, Al Arabi’s champion Mohammed Nabil Abdulbasit seventh, Qatar SC’s champion Mohammed Anas eighth, Al Arabi’s champion Abdullah Jamal Ali ninth, and Al Sadd’s champion Abdulrahman Ismail
Al Jaish champion in pee-wees
In the pee-wees category, Al Jaish came out well ahead of all its rivals, with the championship’s surprise Al Khor snatching second place from Al Gharafa, who came third. In the final standings, Al Jaish finished first with 30 points, Al Khor second with 38 points, Al Gharafa third with 68 points, Al Wakrah fourth with 73 points, while Al Arabi came fifth with 74 points, Al Ahli sixth with 98 points, Al Rayyan seventh with 118 points, Al Sadd eighth with 121 points, Qatar SC ninth with 141 points, and Al Shamal tenth with 144 points
In the individual event, for the top ten finishers, Al Gharafa’s champion Farouk Khan finished first, Al Gharafa’s Moham Rabid second, Qatar SC’s Abdullah Yasser third, Al Jaish’s Abdulrahman Essam fourth, Al Jaish’s Obaid Bashir Obaid fifth, Al Khor’s champion Ayham Nawim sixth, Al Khor’s champion Najm Ali Nour seventh, Al Jaish’s Haseeh Othman eighth, Al Arabi’s champion Mohammed Hatem Al Sayed ninth, and Al Khor’s champion Nawaf Jaber tenth
