Asal downs Wilhelmi to reach Qatar Classic quarters; Gohar sets up El…

Doha, Qatar: World No.1 Mostafa Asal survived a spirited challenge from Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2026 Qatar Classic yesterday. xsportfeed.quest

The reigning World Champion was pushed hard during the high-intensity 48-minute encounter before he eventually secured an 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 victory at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

Despite Wilhelmi’s impressive resistance, the top seed Asal dropped just 12 points across the three-game contest to keep his pursuit of a maiden Qatar Classic title on track.

Asal, who has known Wilhelmi since their junior days, was full of praise for the Swiss player after the match.

“Yeah, for sure. I’ve been playing with Yannick all over the years. Since I was 14 or 13, the British Junior Open and the World Open,” Asal said.

“He’s a pretty good guy on and off court and I’m really happy to see him in that place and challenging the top boys. He’s another Swiss on the road. I played against Niki and now Yannick, so I’m pretty pleased with that.”

الأخباربعد رحيل لوبيز.. هل ينجح قطر في إنقاذ موسمه؟ .. الملك ينهار .. والخسائر تدق ناقوس الخطريمر الملك القطراوي بمرحلة صعبة في دوري نجوم بنك الدوحة، بعدما تراجعت نتائجه واستقر في المركز قبل الأخير، لتقرر الإدارة إنهاء مهمة المدرب الإسباني لوبيز عقب الخسارة أمام الريان، ...فتح →

“I’m trying to make myself as sharp as I can. It’s a big push at the beginning to kick off the season,” Asal, who finished runner up at the Qatar event on the last two occasions, said.

Earlier, World No.9 Marwan ElShorbagy also progressed after overcoming compatriot Curtis Malik 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 in 35 minutes. France’s Gregoire Marche was also victorious, fighting back from losing the opening game to defeat American Timothy Brownell 5-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 in 46 minutes. World No.13 Aly Abou Eleinen also advanced, defeating France’s Baptiste Masotti 11-5, 11-9, 11-2 in 41 minutes.

Meanwhile, on the women’s draw, former World No.1 Nouran Gohar survived a dramatic five-game battle with compatriot Malak Khafagy to book a quarter-final showdown with defending champion Hania El Hammamy.

Making her competitive return after a year away from the PSA Tour following the birth of her first child in April, fifth-seeded Gohar was pushed to the limit in a thrilling 91-minute contest as she eventually prevailed 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 12-14, 11-9.

“I didn’t enjoy my squash today, but I did enjoy my resilience and mental toughness. I need to go through matches like these,” Gohar said after the win.

On her upcoming quarter-final with El Hammamy, she added: “I’m really looking forward to that match. It’s going to be competitive out there, but no pressure whatsoever. I’m looking forward to the match.”

El Hammamy, meanwhile, continued her title defence with a convincing 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 win over England’s Lucy Turmel in 39 minutes.

Belgium’s Tinne Gilis also produced a commendable performance, overcoming India’s Anahat Singh in five games. Gilis recovered from losing the second and third games to win 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 in 58 minutes.

Fourth seed Sivasangari Subramaniam also advanced, defeating Egypt’s Salma Hany 12-10, 11-6, 11-5 in just 26 minutes.

Doha, Qatar: Romeo At, the four-year-old Purebred Arabian colt, recorded the biggest success of his career by winning the Gr.1 (PA) UAE President Cup - UK Arabian Derby - over 2000m at Doncaster. The race was reserved for four-year-olds and attracted a field of six runners.

Trained by Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte, ridden by Tom Marquand and owned by Wathnan Racing, Romeo At showed plenty of courage to win at the highest level on his first start outside France.

The colt had already shown good form this season, winning the Gr.3 (PA) Prix Damas over 1600m at Bordeaux on his seasonal return. He then earned two places at Gr.1 (PA) level over 2000m, including a third-place finish in the Gr.1 (PA) Doha Cup (Prix Manganate) on his latest start. The victory at Doncaster, therefore, gave Romeo At the first Gr.1 (PA) success of his career.

Romeo At broke well but was immediately steadied by Tom Marquand, who initially tried to settle him behind. The colt raced quite keenly, however, and after around 200m his jockey allowed him to stride forward. Very free in the early stages, Romeo At moved into second position behind the leader Sab’Aan Al Shahania, with Laffan racing in third. The order remained mostly unchanged down the back straight, although Al Sharid moved forward to race alongside Laffan. Romeo At, meanwhile, began to settle better as the runners approached the final turn.

Turning into the straight, Marquand moved Romeo At away from the leader while keeping him in second position. Sab’Aan Al Shahania was still in front, with Laffan close behind, while Al Sharid came under strong pressure and began to lose ground. Inside the final 300m, Romeo At was still travelling comfortably while the leader was already being strongly ridden. Laffan looked to be the main danger and was also still travelling well.

Approaching the final 200m, Laffan came up alongside Romeo At and the pair began to pull clear of the others. Romeo At responded well when challenged and found more under pressure. Inside the final 100m, the two colts continued to fight, but Romeo At proved the stronger and stayed on gamely to win by one and a half lengths. Laffan finished second while Sab’Aan Al Shahania took third further back.

يقام الليلة الدور ربع النهائي من منافسات دوري الكابتن سعيد المسند رحمه الله لكرة الصالات في نسخته الثانية الذي يستمر حتى يوم الجمعة المقبل في صالة الاتحاد القطري لكرة الصالات بنادي الوكرة، وستكون المباراة الأولى اليوم بين اتحاد الشرطة وفريق الشقب الساعة الخامسة مساءً، على أن تكون المباراة الثانية بين سنونو والجسرة الساعة السادسة مساءً، واللقاء الثالث يجمع بين النصر وسبورت دوم الساعة السابعة مساءً، والمباراة الرابعة بين فريقي مدرج العنابي وأكاديمية فاردن الساعة الثامنة مساءً، ومن المتوقع أن تشهد المباريات الاربع ندية كبيرة بين كافة الفرق للتأهل للدور نصف النهائي من البطولة الذي سيقام يوم الأربعاء المقبل، ولذلك المتابعين والجمهور سيكون أمام مباريات حافلة بالاثارة، وكان دور المجموعات للدوري انتهى بمباراتين في المجموعة الأولى، حيث حقق اتحاد الشرطة الفوز على أكاديمية فاردن برباعية مقابل هدف، بينما فاز سبورت دوم على جامعة الدوحة بثلاثة اهداف مقابل هدفين، وبالنسبة للترتيب العام بعد انتهاء دور المجموعات، في المجموعة الأولى احتل اتحاد الشرطة المركز الأول وسنونو ثانياً وأكاديمية فاردن ثالثاً وسبورت دوم في المركز الرابع، وجامعة الدوحة في المركز الخامس، بينما المجموعة الثانية، جاء النصر في صدارة المجموعة ومدرج العنابي في المركز الثاني، والجسرة ثالثاً والشقب في المركز الرابع، وتقام البطولة بمشاركة 10 فرق، وهي: أكاديمية فاردن، وسبورت دوم، وسنونو، واتحاد الشرطة، وجامعة الدوحة، والشقب، والوكرة، والجسرة، والنصر، ومدرج العنابي،ويحظى دوري الكابتن سعيد المسند بتواجد عدد كبير من الرعاة والشركاء ، وزارة الرياضة والشباب الشريك الاستراتيجي، وفودافون قطر راعى الاتصالات الرسمي للبطولة، والاتحاد القطري لكرة القدم شريك المنشأة، ومن الداعمين الرسميين شركة أسيل للمياه، والجزيرة للعطور بجانب الرعاء والشركاء الاخرين.

Paris, France: Edouard Mendy, 34, the Senegal national team goalkeeper, announced through his social media handles his retirement from international football on Sunday.

"Jerejef (Thank you) Senegal," Mendy posted in Wolof, the principle language of the country, above a video montage showing his greatest moments in a Senegal shirt, which he has now laid to rest after eight years and 59 caps with the Lions of Teranga.

Born in France, Mendy, who has played top level club football for Marseille, Reims, Rennes and Chelsea and is currently in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, was handed his international debut by Aliou Cisse in 2018.

He was in the Senegal side that won the Africa Nations Cup on penalties against Egypt in 2021 and also played at last year's event which Senegal won 1-0 on the pitch before it was later awarded to hosts Morocco instead by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear Senegal's appeal on October 8.

Together with captain Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gana Gueye and superstar Sadio Mane, Mendy embodied Senegal's golden generation.

He played at the 2022 World Cup and was still a key part of the side at the 2026 edition in the United States, where they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Belgium (3-2).

The Senegalese national team, now coached by Patrick Vieira, also paid tribute to him on their social media accounts.

"There are careers that are measured in caps, trophies and statistics," they posted. "And then there are those that are measured by the place they hold in the memory of a people. Edouard Mendy, your story with the Lions now belongs to that category."

Barcelona announced on Friday that Egypt forward Hamza Abdelkarim has agreed to a contract extension until June 2030.

The 18-year-old will sign the agreement on September 15, in club president Joan Laporta’s office. He will then address the media, Barcelona said in their announcement.

The new agreement extends his stay by one year beyond the deal Barcelona announced in June, when they exercised their purchase option following his loan from Al Ahly. That contract ran until June 30, 2029.

Barcelona did not disclose his salary or a release clause in their statement, but earlier reports had linked the negotiations to a proposed increase in his release clause to €150 million.

Abdelkarim earned his competitive first-team debut against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on August 31 after finishing Barcelona’s pre-season as their leading scorer with four goals. He had scored twice against Birmingham City before adding goals against Basel and former club Al Ahly.

Flick publicly backed the Egyptian before the Rayo match, having left him out of Barcelona’s opening two league games.

“He deserves to play, and he will play,” Flick said, as KingFut previously reported.

The German coach also praised Abdelkarim’s daily improvement, attitude and mentality while promising him an opportunity to demonstrate his quality in La Liga.

Abdelkarim initially joined Barcelona on loan on February 1. Administrative formalities delayed his youth-team debut until March 8, when he scored in a 2-2 draw away to Huesca.

He subsequently scored a hat-trick in the under-19 side’s 9-0 victory over Montecarlo, which secured the División de Honor title. His performances prompted Barcelona to make the transfer permanent during the summer.

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