Students of ASPIRE, Qatar’s Academy of Sports Excellence, have continued to record impressive results while on a focused program of summer camps around Europe and Asia.
As part of ASPIRE’s ongoing development strategy, students are taking part in international football, athletics, squash, and table tennis competitions and have already achieved strong results against some of the world’s best young athletes in their respective age groups.
ASPIRE student Odey Amr broke his personal best to collect a bronze medal in the hammer at the Jakarta Asian Junior Championships, throwing 57.46 metres, while Thamer Nasser Al Thani reached the semi-finals of the 100 metres in 10.76 seconds, despite heavy rain in Indonesia. Over 800 athletes and officials attended the 4 day event.
At the last day of the Arab U20 Junior Athletics Championhsips in Tunis, brothers Mahamad, and Salman Almanai both won medals. Mahamad took gold in the junior decathlon event with 6,619 points, while his brother improved in the high jump to win a silver medal with a jump of 2.11 metres. Salman was also member of the 4 x 400 metre relay, which won the silver medal alongside was Abubaker Omar. A bronze medal was also awarded to Jabor Jassem in the Javelin.
The ASPIRE under 16 and under 17 football teams both won their opening two games against top European sides; beating F.C.O. Firminy in France 2:0, and 4:0 respectively, and then moving on to beat St. Etienne 5:0 and 4:0.
On the 3rd leg of the 16th Sportexcel Squash Junior Circuit, ASPIRE students again performed well with Abdulla Al Tamini finishing 7th in the under 15 event, just losing out in five sets to the number two seed in the quarter finals.
Exposure to international competition is one of the ways in which ASPIRE helps develop its student athletes, helping them acclimatise to different playing styles and foreign cultures. It also provides an important indicator of how well the student athletes are developing in their chosen sports.
Dr. Andreas Bleicher, Sports Director, ASPIRE said: “International competition is important for our athletes and brings out the best in them. These events test not only individual ability, but also help to build character. Results from the different tournaments have been very promising and this success demonstrates the progress that many of our students are making.”
ASPIRE students will spend time in France, Germany, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Indonesia, Sweden, Tunisia, Spain, Malaysia, Korea, Holland, Morocco, China and Portugal, over the next two months.
The 2008 ASPIRE academic school year begins in September, a new term and new opportunities for students to build on the invaluable experience they gained over the summer, and to follow the example set by the academies first graduates who received their certificates this month.
About ASPIRE
ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha was created in 2004 with the dual aims of identifying and transforming promising student athletes into world-renowned champions across a wide range of sports and to act as a beacon to draw sporting culture into the center of life in Qatar and the surrounding region.
The Academy is distinguished by a philosophy which aims to develop the student as a whole, providing them with full academic, social and sporting development.
Unrivaled facilities, housed in and around the world’s largest purpose built indoor sports dome, ensure the Academy’s reputation as one of the foremost sporting and educational institutions in the entire international community, enticing an ever-increasing number of visitors and users, from sporting legends to global political leaders.
Every aspect of the development of elite athletes is catered for by one indoor and seven outdoor football pitches, athletics tracks, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, diving pool, combat arenas, gymnastics arena, specially designed weight rooms, lecture halls, dormitories to accommodate what will eventually become 1,000 students, a medical center and many more facilities.
The ASPIRE ACTIVE programs and the work of Talent Centers spread across the country ensure that thousands of the nation’s residents now have accessible and advanced health and fitness activities as routine aspects of their lives. Each social group is catered for by tailor-made classes and programs.
As of 2007, the ASPIRE Africa. Football Dreams project has tested over 600,000 young Africans from seven nations as part of the biggest-ever talent search in the sport. The top three footballers will be awarded full scholarships to study at the Academy alongside their Qatari classmates. First and foremost, ASPIRE is a place for those who dare to dream.
