Qatar Sport

Team Qatar’s swimming team won eight medals today — including two gold, three silver, and three bronze — on the final day of the swimming competitions at the 4th GCC Games currently taking place in Doha. The Games continue until May 22, with around 1,400 male and female athletes from GCC countries competing across 17 sports. The first gold medal came through swimmer Saad Al Din Saad Al Din, who claimed first place in the men’s 1500m freestyle after setting a new Games record of 15:19.77 minutes. Bahrain’s Robert Ponsal finished second to take silver in 15:45.05 minutes, while Qatar’s Emil Fouzai secured bronze in 15:50.00 minutes. Team Qatar added a second gold medal in the men’s 4x100m medley relay through the quartet of Abdullah Al Ghamri, Mohammed Mahmoud, Tamim Al Humaida, and Ali Tamer, who also set a new Games record of 3:45.66 minutes, ahead of Saudi Arabia in second place and Kuwait in third. In the remaining events, Tamim Al Humaida won silver in the men’s 50m backstroke with a time of 26.19 seconds, behind Bahrain’s Mikhail Arkhangelskiy, who claimed gold and set a new Games record of 25.47 seconds. Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Issa won bronze in 26.56 seconds. Mohammed Mahmoud also secured silver in the men’s 200m breaststroke in 2:20.63 minutes, just two hundredths of a second behind Bahrain’s Saud Ghali, who won gold in 2:20.61 minutes, while Qatar’s Hamza Shaalan claimed bronze in 2:21.24 minutes. In the men’s 100m butterfly, Ali Tamer won silver with a time of 53.77 seconds, while teammate Mohammed Aziz took bronze in 55.15 seconds. Bahrain’s Mikhail Arkhangelskiy claimed gold after setting another Games record of 53.29 seconds. Team Qatar concluded its swimming campaign with an impressive total of 26 medals, including 13 gold, nine silver, and four bronze medals. Team Qatar Shooters Win Nine Medals Team Qatar shooters delivered outstanding performances at Lusail International Shooting Complex, claiming nine additional medals — three gold, one silver, and five bronze — to further strengthen Qatar’s lead at the top of the overall standings of the 4th GCC Games Doha 2026. The first gold medal came through champion shooter Rashid Saleh Al Athba, who won the men’s skeet individual title after defeating Kuwait’s Mohammed Al Awadh, who took silver, while Saudi Arabia’s Nayef Al Mutairi claimed bronze. Qatar continued its dominance in the women’s individual skeet event as Reem Al Sharshani captured gold ahead of Bahrain’s Maryam Al Aasam, while Team Qatar’s Hajar Mohammed secured bronze. Team Qatar women also struck gold in the women’s skeet team event through the trio of Reem Al Sharshani, Hajar Mohammed, and Sara Mohammed, finishing ahead of Bahrain in second place, while Kuwait claimed bronze. Meanwhile, Qatar’s women’s 10m air rifle team comprising Dalal Al Kubaisi, Al Maha Al Ali, and Retaj Al Yafei secured silver behind Bahrain, while Oman won bronze. Retaj Al Yafei also won bronze in the women’s individual 10m air rifle event, which was won by Bahrain’s Nouf Al Dosari, while the UAE’s Fatima Al Suwaidi took silver. Team Qatar shooters concluded their medal haul with four additional bronze medals. The first came through the men’s skeet team of Rashid Al Athba, Ali Al Ishaq, and Mohammed Al Kuwari, in an event won by Kuwait ahead of Saudi Arabia. Abdulrahman Al Sulaiti also secured bronze in the men’s individual 10m air rifle event behind Saudi Arabia’s Misfer Al Omari and Oman’s Salim Al Nabi. Al Sulaiti later teamed up with Ali Al Muhannadi and Khalid Al Sharshani to claim bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle team event behind Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Team Qatar Athletics Continue Strong Performances Team Qatar athletics continued its impressive performances at the 4th GCC Games Doha 2026, adding six more medals on the second day of competition — including three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals — during an exciting evening at Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium. In the men’s hammer throw, Qatar dominated the event as Ashraf Al Saifi won gold with a throw of 70.18m, while teammate Ahmed Al Saifi secured bronze with 65.89m. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Dosari claimed silver with 69.36m. In the men’s 400m race, Qatari runners delivered another strong performance, with Ammar Ibrahim winning gold in 45.51 seconds and teammate Ashraf Othman taking silver in 45.76 seconds. Oman’s Ahmed Abdulsalam secured bronze in 48.88 seconds. Samar Al Mansouri also shone in the women’s pole vault, winning gold after clearing 3.50m. UAE athlete Shahad Rashid claimed silver with 3.25m, while compatriot Alyazia Tarek took bronze with 2.80m. In the men’s 110m hurdles, Qatar’s Omar Abkar secured silver in 14.08 seconds, while Kuwait’s Yaqoub Al Youha won gold in 13.67 seconds and Bahrain’s Salem Bakhit claimed bronze in 15.02 seconds. At the end of the second day, Team Qatar maintained top spot in the athletics standings with 20 medals — including eight gold, five silver, and seven bronze medals. Bahrain ranked second with 12 medals, while Saudi Arabia came third with 10 medals. Team Qatar Fencing Wins Gold Team Qatar fencing team won gold in the men’s team foil event at the GCC Games Doha 2026. The quartet of Khalid Hussein, Abdullah Khalifa, Ali Turki Al Athba, and Abdulrahman Bougrib secured first place, while Bahrain won silver and Kuwait took bronze. Qatar also claimed bronze in the men’s team épée event through Youssef Abdeltawab, Mohammed Abdulali, Mohammed Al Hazzaa, and Abdulrahman Al Jadera. Saudi Arabia won gold, while the UAE claimed silver. In the women’s events, Team Qatar secured bronze in women’s team foil through Zikrayat Al Abdullah, Sheikha Ali, and Fatima Al Maadheed. Team Qatar fencing concluded the Games with five medals after winning gold through Ali Turki Al Athba and silver through Khalid Hussein in the men’s individual foil event on the opening day. Khalid Suwaid, Director of the fencing competitions, praised the high technical level displayed by the athletes, stating that the performances reflected the significant development of fencing across the GCC countries. Bashar Hussein Wins Silver in Billiards Team Qatar billiards player Bashar Hussein won the silver medal in the men’s 9-ball singles event at the billiards and snooker competitions of the GCC Games Doha 2026 after losing in the final to UAE player Mahmoud Sharif. The billiards and snooker competitions feature ten events — five in billiards and five in snooker — while Team Qatar is represented by seven players: Ali Al Obaidli, Muhanna Al Obaidli, Mansour Al Obaidli, Ahmed Saif, Bashar Hussein, Mishal Turki Al Ali, and Abdul Latif Al Fawal. Team Qatar Equestrian Ends Campaign with Bronze Team Qatar equestrian team concluded its participation at the GCC Games Doha 2026 with a bronze medal after rider Bassem Mohammed secured third place in the individual showjumping event held at the Qatar Equestrian Federation indoor arena. Riding “Wathnan Chakpool,” Bassem Mohammed finished third following strong competition over jumps set at 145cm across two rounds and a jump-off. UAE rider Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi won gold riding “Koenig,” while Kuwait’s Ali Al Kharafi claimed silver riding “Ay.” With this achievement, Team Qatar equestrian concluded the Games with one gold and one bronze medal after winning the team showjumping gold medal on the opening day through riders Faleh Suwaid Al Ajmi, Salman Mohammed Al Emadi, Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi, and Bassem Mohammed. Bassem Mohammed expressed his happiness after winning his second medal of the Games following the team gold medal, describing the competitions as highly competitive and challenging. “I am very happy to add another medal for Team Qatar at the conclusion of our participation in the GCC Games. We were aiming for gold, but the competition level was very high among all riders. Thank God for what we achieved, and I look forward to continuing to work hard and deliver even better performances in future competitions to achieve more accomplishments for Qatari equestrian sport.”

Football

London: West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo wants VAR decisions to show more consistency after his relegation-haunted side were denied a crucial equaliser against Arsenal. Nuno's team thought they had rescued a valuable 1-1 draw with the Premier League leaders last weekend when Callum Wilson netted in stoppage-time. But Wilson's goal was disallowed after Pablo was penalised for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Adding to Nuno's frustration after the 1-0 loss, separate unpunished potential fouls occurred during the same phase of play, which could have earned his men a penalty -- prompting West Ham to complain to referees' body the PGMOL. And on Friday, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel also said the Hammers should have been awarded two penalties during their 3-0 defeat at Brentford a week earlier. "We made a complaint," admitted Nuno, whose third-bottom side are two points behind fourth-bottom Tottenham with only two games left. "I think it was normal that we did it, to try to find some answers to some questions that creates a lot of doubts. "What is needed, and we're going to speak about referees and VAR, is consistency. It would help the game, it would help the Premier League, it would help first and foremost the players. "They have to realise, they have to understand that there are no doubts, no frustrations." West Ham travel to Newcastle on Sunday knowing a victory would lift them out of the relegation zone, before Tottenham face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Football

Brussels, Belgium: Belgium coach Rudi Garcia named Romelu Lukaku in his World Cup squad on Friday despite saying Belgium's all-time record goalscorer was "out of shape". Lukaku, who has scored 89 goals in 124 international appearances, has struggled for form and fitness at Serie A club Napoli this season. The 33-year-old former Inter Milan and Chelsea forward has only played 69 minutes of first-team football in 2026 and is currently sidelined by a hip injury. "Romelu has recovered, but he's out of shape, and I'm not sure he'll be able to start the matches. But he's our best striker, Belgium's all-time leading scorer," Frenchman Garcia told reporters. "We have five weeks to get him back to full fitness so that little by little he can help the team." Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo was given a maiden call-up after opting to switch nationality, having previously played for Spain's Under-21s. Lois Openda, who has played 33 times for Belgium, is a notable absentee after scoring just once in 24 Serie A appearances this season on loan at Juventus from RB Leipzig. There are few other surprises in Garcia's 26-man squad, with Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Jeremy Doku all included. Belgium kick off their World Cup campaign against Egypt in Seattle on June 15, before taking on Iran and New Zealand in Group G in Los Angeles and Vancouver respectively. The Red Devils crashed out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stage, plagued by infighting as the 'golden generation' failed miserably in their final bid for a major title.