Young and old defy rain to make Qatar Sport Day a grand success

Doha: Rain or not, young and old turned up in hundreds at various venues around Qatar to take part in numerous sporting events organized by government entities and corporates to mark the Qatar National Sport Day (NSD).

Many feared that rain would dampen the Sport Day spirit but as the showers receded in the morning sports enthusiasts headed outdoors and were seen trying out various sports like football, basketball, volleyball and fun activities like skipping, wresting and fencing. In fact many sporting events saw visitors competing wearing colourful raincoats. 

Even the top officials of the country were seen participating enthusiastically in their sports gear. 

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), attended the events organised by the Qatar Foundation event.

H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF), led the participants in the Walkathon held at Al Shaqab by Qatar Foundation. 

There was an energy producing cycle set up at the Al Shaqab area, which was very popular among the visitors.

There were many health food stalls set up to create awareness about healthy eating.

Ministry of Interior tweeted the image of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa participating in NSD activities along with staff and differently abled people.  

While Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali was spotted at Aspire Zone, Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti was present at sports activities in Pearl Qatar.  Minister of Energy & Industry H E Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada participated in activities at Katara.

The Ooredoo Chairman Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani participated in the games at Museum of Islamic Art Park. 

Sports enthusiasts including women and children participated in different activities. At MIA Park, children showcased their taekwondo and fencing skills apart from participating in various group exercises and sports. 

Asian town saw a plethora of sporting events including running race, walkathons, volleyball and tug of war. Hundreds of people from Indian and Filipino communities participated in these events. Indian Sports Centre was also launched on this occasion at Asian Town. 

At Aspire Zone people turned out in huge numbers for Fun Run, walkathons and various other games. 

Apart from the usual games and sporting events, Katara was venue to many activities such as wrestling, beach volleyball, paragliding and rowing. 

Various corporate houses hosted events for their staff in different parts of Qatar. 

The Pearl-Qatar had events including yoga for kids and other sporting activities.