HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), was present at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in Tokyo yesterday.

In addition to the presence of the Emperor of Japan Naruhito, QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin Rashid al-Buenain was also present as flag bearers Tala Abujbara and Mohamed al-Rumaihi led the national contingent during the athlete’s parade.

15 Qatari athletes are representing Qatar in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with 29-year-old rower Tala Abujbara placing fifth in the women’s single sculls heats on Friday.

Magdalena Lobnig of Austria clinched the heats at the Sea Forest Waterway in a time of 7:37.91, with Tala finishing outside the top three in a time of 8:06.29.

Carling Zeeman (7:40.72) of Canada and Maike Diekmann (7:56.37) of Namibia finished second and third, respectively, with the top three qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Tala made history as the first Qatari rower to compete in the Olympics by competing in the Sea Forest Waterway.

Moreover, Tala can yet make the final eight if she finishes in the top two in the repechage round on Saturday. Her race is set for 8:30 am (2:30 am Doha time).

The Qatari rower expressed her excitement in being bale to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and stated that it has been a dream of hers for many years.

She was extremely proud and honored in being able to jointly bear the Qatari flag along with Mohammed Al Ramaihi during the opening ceremony.

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, Qatar's beach volleyball duo, are preparing to begin their Olympic campaign tomorrow. In the first match, they will face Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson of Switzerland.

Ayoub El Idriss of Qatar will compete in the Men's 66 event tomorrow, while Abdulaziz al-Obaidly will compete in the Men's 200m breaststroke swimming event on Tuesday.

Official training sessions for the men's trap event will begin this Monday, with Qatar's Mohamed al-Rumaihi set to compete at the Tokyo Olympics on July 28.

For more information on Team Qatar, please visit Olympic.qa

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Source: Gulf Times

Cover and Inline Image Credit: QOC