+ A
A -
Raajiv Tripathi
DOHA
Qatar's scenic Katara Cultural Village will be added as a new venue to the FIVB World Tour next month when it hosts the premier 4-star Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2018 from March 6 to 10.
Fourteen out of top 16 world-ranked pairs are among the teams that would contest for top honours, big prize money and valuable ranking points for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al Sulaiti, Katara Cultural Village Foundation General Manager and Tournament Director, signed the agreement with Qatar Volleyball Association President Ali Ghanim al Kuwari, to organise the tournament, the only one of its kind in the Middle East. Also present during the press conference were Darwish Ahmed al Shebani, Katara Cultural Foundation Marketing Director, and Mohammed Salem al Kuwari, QVA Beach Volleyball Commission Vice-President.
"We've a vast experience of hosting international events at the Katara and we know that we've been entrusted with a big responsibility by the Qatar Volleyball Association for holding the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2018.
"It has attracted top players of the world and it will certainly bring more value and importance to our profile," Dr Khalid added.
The hosting agreement is right now for one year but it is likely that it may be extended for another two years."We're optimistic that the Katara Centre would continue to be the venue of this premier event for more years to come," he said.
The tournament director said that the Katara Cultural Foundation is also organising the Halal Qatar Festival (March 2 to 10)."We have visitors to it from all over the world and the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup would be a part of the festival."
QVA President Ali Ghanim al Kuwari said,"The QVA is delighted that Qatar is back on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour after a year's gap. The event is very significant for us and Qatar as 56 pairs from 28 countries would be taking part in the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2018.
"In the main draw, world's top 14 out of 16 teams will be contesting for the title, which shows the value of the event. This is the only four-star event the FIVB has allotted in the Middle East for which we really wish to thank the international federation," he added.
The QVA chief also hinted at bringing the women's event to Qatar possibly next year."We talked to the FIVB officials talked about the women's tournament as well. We are from a country that respects traditions, culture and heritage.
"We attach a great deal of respect to women players' attire. The FIVB has agreed to our conditions on this issue," Kuwari added.
Main Round Pairs
Pos. Country Player 1 Player 2 Entry Pts.
1 USA Philip Dalhausser Nicholas Lucena 2800
2 POL Bartosz Losiak Piotr Kantor 2680
3 RUS Viacheslav Krasilnikov Nikita Liamin 2520
4 ITA Paolo Nicolai Daniele Lupo 2400
5 BRA Geroge SM Wanderley Pedro Solberg 1780
6 NED Alexander Brouwer Robert Meeuwsen 1760
7 LAT Aleksandrs Samoilovs Janis Smedins 1720
8 ESP Pablo Herrera Allepuz Adri?n Gavira Collado 1720
9 LAT Martins Plavins Edgars Tocs 1700
10 MEX Juan Virgen Lombardo Ontiveros 1640
11 BEL Dries Koekelkoren Tom van Walle 1560
12 CAN Sam Schachter Sam Pedlow 1560
13 BRA ?lvaro Morais Filho Saymon Barbosa Santos 1480
14 USA Taylor Crabb Jacob Gibb 1480
15 CAN Grant O’Gorman Ben Saxton 1470
16 NOR Anders Berntsen Mol Christian Sandlie S?rum 1460
17 USA John Hyden Theodore Brunner 1460
18 RUS Maxim Sivolap Artem Yarzutkin 1448
19 RUS Oleg Stoyanovskiy Igor Velichko 1448
20 POL Michal Bryl Grzegorz Fijalek 1440
21 QAT Cherif Younousse Ahmed Tijan 1420
22 QAT J?lio Nascimento Jefferson S Pereira 1112
23 CHN WC Likejiang Ha Jiaxin Wu 346
24 QAT WC Benlouaer Ziad Ziad Ahmed M A Ali Nassir 5
