Diamond League: Qatari athletes look to impress in season opener

Promising Qatari athletes are eyeing an impressive performance when they will be up against top quality fields in tomorrow’s Diamond League season opener in Doha.

Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) President and the Chairman of Doha Diamond League Organising Committee Mohammed Issa Al Fadala confirmed at a press conference yesterday that a total of 180 athletes representing 80 countries will take part in the inaugural round of the 14-leg league. 

Tomorrow’s meet at Qatar Sports Club’s Suheim Bin Stadium will see the track and field stars vie for titles in 14 disciplines.  The stellar line-up dubbed the ‘best ever field’ in Doha will see 15 reigning individual Olympic and world champions in action.

Reigning Olympic and world high jump champion Mutaz Barshim will lead a five-member Qatari contingent that will also include Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla and Abdulrahman Saeed (800m), Musaab Adam (3,000m) and Moaz Ibrahim (discus throw). 

While Barshim is targeting a winning start to a busy season, the other Qatari athletes are hoping to excel in the tough competition. 

Adam, who will face the likes of reigning Olympic and world 3000m steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Ethiopia’s Olympic and world 3000m SC silver medallist Lamecha Girma in the men’s 3000m race, was excited ahead of his first major race of the season. 

“It will be a good challenge and a great learning experience for me as I will compete against elite athletes who have won medals at Olympics and other major international competitions,” Adam, sitting alongside President Fadala, other QAF officials and his teammates said during the press conference at Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters yesterday.  

“This is an important season and I am happy to get an opportunity to compete in the Diamond League at home for which I am thankful to the QFA. I will do my best and will try to achieve my best time,” he added. 

Ibrahim, who bagged a gold medal for Qatar in the West Asia Athletics Championships last week, was aiming to maintain his form.  

“I am looking forward to compete against the world’s best athletes. This experience will certainly help me improve and win accolades for my country in the future as per QAF’s vision,” the discus thrower said.       

Huge fan attendance  

Meanwhile, the QAF President was confident of hosting one of the best editions of Doha meeting ever. 

“It’s an important season which will see the World Championships in Hungary [in August] so we are expecting exciting competitions among the top athletes,” Al Fadala said at the press conference.     

Apart from the Worlds, this athletics season will see Asian Championships in Bangkok in July and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September.        

“We may see athletes registering their best times and set various new records during the Doha meeting,” Al Fadala said before adding that Organising Committee has been receiving overwhelming response from fans during the ticket sales. 

“We are looking forward to host more than 11,000 fans based on the ticket sales. The electrifying atmosphere inside the stadium will help athletes in bringing out their best,” he said.