Sports is a key element of Qatar’s National vision 2030. In addition to the National Sports Day, the country is keen to develop a great variety of sports from boxing to fencing.
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00:00 (shushing)
00:02 - Boxing, it make you strong and happy
00:05 and defending woman and independent woman
00:07 and you can feel yourself that when you playing
00:10 in the ground that you are different.
00:12 - This competition means international exposure.
00:15 They can see champions in action,
00:17 they can play with them and this is really,
00:20 really important for us.
00:21 - Hello and welcome to Qatar 365.
00:27 I'm Laila Humaira and on this episode,
00:30 we explore how sports is a major pillar
00:33 in Qatar's national vision 2030.
00:36 From encouraging an active lifestyle
00:38 to shaping future Olympians,
00:40 we'll look at how the country is fueling
00:42 the competitive spirit in locals and residents alike.
00:46 And what better way to do that
00:48 than a whole day dedicated to sports.
00:51 Adel Halim took a lap around all the festivities.
00:55 - Down, yup, sweep.
00:57 Come to the mount, good.
01:02 - Saif Al-Mohannadi is learning how
01:06 to stay safe through jujitsu.
01:08 The 14 year old likes the fact that size doesn't matter
01:12 when it comes to self-defense.
01:13 - It doesn't mean that someone is bigger than you
01:17 or larger than you or heavier than you,
01:19 he's gonna win like when you fight or something.
01:22 Like my coach, I tried on him,
01:25 he's a lot bigger, he's got muscles, he has everything.
01:28 He's a lot bigger and I can still like sometimes win
01:32 because it's all about technique.
01:33 - Saif is one of 10,000 attendees participating
01:36 in national sport day events organized by Qatar Foundation.
01:41 - The country really has a vision
01:43 and a priority around sports.
01:44 I think we've always seen that
01:47 from hosting major sporting events,
01:48 but also by creating a special national day just for sports.
01:52 That's not something you really see
01:54 in any other parts of the world.
01:55 So it's quite clear that leadership of this country
01:58 and the sort of vision of this country
01:59 is really focused on sports.
02:01 And that has threaded through from grassroots to elite.
02:05 - Speaking of elite, Olympian Ibtihaj Mohamed
02:08 and tennis player, Anz Jabbour were invited to inspire
02:12 by showing sports can be a safe space for all.
02:16 - What we've found is that role models are crucial
02:18 and representation is crucial.
02:20 So what we've tried to do is engage amazing ambassadors
02:23 from all over the world,
02:24 but also here within Qatar to really play that role
02:27 and show that no matter who you are,
02:30 you can participate in sport and be physically active.
02:32 Another thing that we're trying to do with our ambassadors
02:36 is really create role models for our women's sports academy,
02:39 which we're developing over the next few years,
02:41 which is really to identify young girls in particular
02:45 who have high potential in various sports.
02:47 So Ibtihaj Mohamed and Anz Jabbour,
02:49 amazing women like that are really playing a crucial role
02:52 in developing that program with us
02:54 and playing that role model component that we talked about.
02:57 - Here in Education City, Qatar Foundation has planned
03:00 a full day of activities for the entire family,
03:03 including several ability-friendly programs.
03:06 Also this year, there's a special focus on sports activities
03:08 for women and girls, exploring the different ways
03:11 of having a healthy lifestyle.
03:12 - Leen Khatib Abdullah plays football at school,
03:17 but wanted to try her hand at archery.
03:19 National Sport Day means a lot to the 11-year-old.
03:23 - It makes me feel proud of myself
03:24 because when I was young, I used to only want to be
03:27 a ballerina, but when I grow,
03:30 it's more, I'm more looking forward to sports.
03:33 - Across the city, Expo 2023 Doha
03:35 hosted its first National Sports Day
03:38 with more than 230 activations sprawled
03:41 across more than 7 million square meters at Al Bida Park.
03:45 - The Sports Day is above just being active.
03:48 It's to send a message to the whole society,
03:51 to the community, to engage with all of the,
03:55 let's say the families, the governmental entities
03:57 will come together to celebrate a well-known celebration,
04:01 which is the Sport Day.
04:02 - For Mujahid Mohammed, who's played high-level football,
04:06 just getting families together to enjoy a day in the park
04:09 is the most important part of the day.
04:13 - That's a powerful sport, as we say.
04:14 The sports usually play as a major role
04:16 in different aspects to bring people together.
04:19 - If there's one sure way to burn off some steam
04:25 and sweat it out, it's boxing.
04:28 The combat sport first debuted at the Olympics in 1904,
04:32 but the women's category was only added in 2012.
04:35 Since then, it's been the pursuit of one woman
04:38 to fly the flag for Qatar
04:40 on the world's most prestigious boxing ring.
04:43 I got gloved up here at ORX Boxing with Afaf Al-Khorani,
04:47 the first female boxer in the Qatari national team
04:50 to understand how the sport has grown in the region
04:53 in popularity and diversity.
04:56 Afaf, thank you so much for being with us today.
05:06 Firstly, can you tell us, how did you first get into boxing?
05:10 - When I was so young, I was a very naughty girl.
05:13 I was so hyper, and we used to watch a lot of wrestling
05:17 on the TV, so that's one of the reasons
05:19 make me love boxing.
05:21 And I used to obsess on Muhammad Ali Khalid
05:24 and Prince Nassim.
05:25 It was my idols.
05:27 - And let's talk about your career as a boxer here in Qatar.
05:30 There were challenges initially
05:32 when you wanted to be a boxer in the national team.
05:34 How did you overcome those challenges?
05:37 - And the first time, there was an accepting federation,
05:39 a woman playing in boxing.
05:41 It wasn't accepting any kind of lady
05:46 playing martial arts or boxing.
05:48 So I just make a presenting for them.
05:50 I do workshops in the school.
05:52 I do workshops in the government school
05:55 to educate the ladies.
05:57 Finally, after two years,
05:58 they accept to give us permission to play.
06:01 So that's the reason it's make me the Qatar Federation.
06:05 They give me a chance.
06:06 It was a good chance for me to open for me the door
06:09 for the new generation to be in the boxing.
06:11 - And today you're not only a coach,
06:14 but you have your own boxing academy.
06:16 How has that been like for you?
06:18 - First time when we start in our academy
06:21 in Oman in Muscat,
06:22 it was a little bit difficult for me.
06:24 It was the mental.
06:26 It wasn't the physically.
06:27 Physically, it's very easy,
06:28 but the hard thing, it was the mental,
06:30 how to change them,
06:31 how to give them a new muscles memory
06:34 to show them this boxing to make you strong and hard.
06:38 So that was the hard thing to send to my students
06:43 before the physically, mentally,
06:45 how to be independent and strong mind before muscles.
06:50 - And finally, how would you like to see boxing
06:53 grow further in Qatar?
06:55 - In 2020, 2030, there will be Asian game here.
06:58 So this is the first time Qatar play for national team
07:02 for ladies in boxing.
07:04 And I reached my target.
07:05 That was my target.
07:06 I'm the first lady knock the door
07:08 to tell them open for the lady.
07:10 And I get my dream.
07:11 And I hope my students in the future,
07:14 they will be also including to play in boxing.
07:17 - There's just a little over a hundred days left
07:22 until the start of the biggest international sporting event
07:25 of the year, the Paris Olympic Games.
07:28 As team Qatar prepares to go for glory,
07:30 we zoom in on one Olympic sport
07:32 that's growing in popularity here,
07:34 getting kids as young as eight to be on guard
07:37 and quick on their feet.
07:39 Meet Yannick Borel.
07:43 The French fencer is an Olympic gold medalist,
07:46 three-time Olympian and four-time European champion.
07:51 That makes him one of the most decorated fencers here
07:54 at the fencing Grand Prix Qatar.
07:56 But even for an Olympic champion,
07:59 fencing is a tricky sport to master.
08:01 - Fencing is a complicated sport.
08:03 It's like chess with a weapon.
08:07 So you have to be really smart.
08:09 You have to be physical, tactical and technical.
08:13 So you have to be complete.
08:16 When you find that really early, it's good for you.
08:19 But sometimes you need time.
08:21 - And with time comes experience.
08:24 That's what Qatar is trying to build for its young fencers,
08:27 some of whom are competing on the global stage
08:30 for the first time.
08:31 - This competition means international exposure.
08:34 They are of course not competitive yet,
08:37 but they can get the benefit.
08:40 They can see champions in action.
08:42 They can play with them.
08:44 And this is really, really important for us.
08:46 - Competitions like the Grand Prix Qatar
08:48 give athletes a chance to put their skills to the test,
08:51 see how far they can stay calm under pressure
08:54 and experience the joy or heartbreak of winning and losing.
08:58 It's also one of the last major tournaments
09:00 in the fencing world
09:02 before all the focus turns to the Olympics.
09:04 It promises to be a special summer games for Yannick,
09:08 who hopes to be crowned champion once again,
09:11 this time on home soil in Paris.
09:14 - My goal is not to qualify.
09:16 My goal is to be Olympic medalist
09:18 or gold Olympic medalist.
09:20 That's my mindset.
09:21 - It's the mentality Clermont Sports
09:23 also wants to build in its fencers.
09:26 Christophe Clermont set up his academy 10 years ago
09:29 in the hopes of creating a diverse fencing community.
09:33 Other than improving their fencing skills,
09:37 Maître Clermont, as his students call him,
09:39 also hopes he can build good characters
09:42 and sportsmanship in them.
09:44 - We want to make them be a good person.
09:46 And the sport and the high elite sport
09:49 is something coming on the top.
09:50 It's not for everybody,
09:52 but at least we want that the people they wish to do that,
09:55 then we give them the opportunity to do so.
09:57 - Parents send their children,
09:59 some as young as eight,
10:00 to start learning to be agile in movement and mind.
10:04 Others are even representing their countries
10:07 on the international stage.
10:09 - My name is Sasha.
10:10 I'm from Lebanon.
10:11 I've been playing fencing for about seven years now.
10:16 I entered the Lebanese national team last summer.
10:20 - Within the pool of fencers at Clermont Sports,
10:24 Maître Clermont has built a system
10:26 to ensure that his students
10:28 get to practice dueling with people
10:30 from all nationalities, levels, and backgrounds.
10:34 - From the 13 years old,
10:35 we regroup everybody from the three centers
10:38 and we have four different kind of competition format
10:43 that we train them like that.
10:44 It's working very well.
10:45 That's why everybody is going through two trainings per week.
10:49 One training is more dedicated for the technique
10:52 and the Saturday is dedicated for the competition minds,
10:56 learning how to perform, how to win,
10:58 imposing the system.
11:01 - All the groundwork at the Qatar Fencing Federation
11:04 and the academies is set to culminate
11:07 at the 2030 Asian Games.
11:09 And as someone who knows exactly what it's like
11:13 to win at the Olympics,
11:15 Yannick has a few words of wisdom.
11:18 - Don't believe in chance, in luck.
11:24 Believe in work, hard work, consistency,
11:27 and believe in yourself.
11:30 It's really important.
11:31 - It's clear that for Qatar,
11:37 all roads lead to the Paris Olympics for now,
11:39 but beyond that, the country is also heavily investing
11:43 in sporting stars of the future.
11:45 We hope you've enjoyed this episode,
11:47 but that's all the time we have for now.
11:49 For more, check out euronews.com
11:51 and connect with us through our hashtag.
11:53 Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time
11:55 on Qatar 365.
11:56 (upbeat music)