The Peninsula
The star-studded Diamond League meet in Doha next month will resume country’s busy sports season which was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) announced yesterday.
According to the updated calendar revealed by the QOC, many global, continental and local competitions are lined up for the rest of the year.
“The QOC adheres to the precautionary measures issued by the Ministry of Public Health to limit the spread of the coronavirus in all tournaments and sporting events for the safety of the athletes and participants,” QOC said in a statement yesterday.
The annual Diamond League series, which usually kicks off in Doha in May, was also disrupted by the prevailing pandemic, but made its comeback in Monaco on August 15. Doha meet will be the ninth stop in the 12-leg series this time, and will take place on September 25 at the Qatar Sports Club.
Doha will stage 12 disciplines, with all eyes focused on the home hero and the reigning high jump World Champion, Mutaz Essa Barshim as well as the Asian 400m hurdles champion and World Championships bronze medal winner Abderrahman Samba.
The calendar, announced by the QOC, also includes the amendment of the dates of Qatar Men’s International Tennis Federation Championship, which will now be held from 12-18.
The Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex will be one of the busiest venues in the coming months as it will host a number of local and international events, including the Qatar Classic Platinum Senior Squash Championship (November 1-7).
The 10-day FIFA Club World Cup will go ahead from December 9 as planned.
The high-profile FIBA World Tour – Doha Masters 2020 will be held from November 21-21 at Al Gharrafa Sports Club.
Qatar International Show Jumping Championship will be held at the Qatar Equestrian Federation Arena from November 14-16 before the Al Rayyan International Show Jumping Championship which will take place at the same venue 12 days later.
The updated calendar also added the Doha 2020 ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup which will be held on December 4 and 5.
Among the local events, the highlights are the Qatar Cup volleyball final (September 30), Qatar Cup basketball Final (October 13), Qatar Cup handball final (October 14), Amir Cup volleyball final (October 16), Amir Cup handball final (October 20), Amir Cup basketball final (October 28) and the Amir Cup football final on November 1.
A number of international tournaments have been postponed to next year, namely the Davis Cup, the 13th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup (men and women), and the table tennis final qualifiers and Tokyo Olympics qualifiers, the QOC said.
Two tournaments at the GCC level have also been postponed, including the 28th GCC Aquatics Championship and the GCC basketball clubs championship.
Meanwhile, the dates are not yet fixed for the Judo World Masters 2020 which will take place at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in Al Sadd.