Action from the Beach Touch Rugby Challenge at Katara.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Blue Thunder became the first Doha-based team to win the inaugural Beach Touch Rugby Challenge at Katara on Friday night after beating Wu Touch Clan (WTC) 2-1 in extra time.
Both teams went into the Cup final undefeated and furiously tried to outwit and manoeuvre each other. For all their skills and tenacity no team was able to crack their opponents’ defence line in the opening half - going into the break 0-0.
The second half of play started with the same firepower but it was WTC who drew first blood from a disciplined settle pattern. The ball was rolled twice up the middle before it went out wide to winger David Dwyer who dived over for a touchdown giving his team the lead 1-nil.
Running out of time, Blue Thunder regained their composure and entertained the boisterous crowd with some enjoyable free flowing touch rugby. As the seconds ticked on, Blue Thunder prayed for a miracle. Then it happened, a quick play and a late switch just before full time, saw fast man Lahiru Prasad Madushanka penetrate WTC’s try line to level the scores 1-1.
In extra time, both the teams refused to let their guards down and the one-minute drop off rule was applied leaving three on three. The minimum player effect created wide open space for the speedy Lahiru Prasad Madushanka who posted his second runaway try. The final touchdown earned Lahiru the man of the match award and the championship cup for his team leaving WTC wondering what might have been.
Fast man and play maker Ben Johnson from Wu Touch Clan was rewarded tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Speaking to reporters after the finals, Blue Thunder captain Shivan Madawa said, “It’s a great feeling. I am so happy for my team. We’ve just made history the first team to ever to win the Katara Beach Touch final. What a buzz. Thanks to Touch Production for making this happen”.
The competition presented by Touch Production and hosted Qatar Touch Rugby was a huge success. According to QTR president Samuel Rico, “Touch Production did an outstanding job promoting and presenting the competition, so much so we unfortunately had to decline some team applications due to the logistics overload.
“The beach touch rugby challenge accepted 12 team entries consisting of 8 players each. The round robin concept gave every team the enjoyment of playing four matches before facing the elimination semi-finals and finals.”
The day/night marathon event hosted 39 different matches, seven and a half hours of play and 445 minutes of intense non-stop Touch Rugby action. The 12 teams who participated in the tournament were Doha Chiefs, CNAQ, Storms, Blue Thunder, Mesaieed, Blue Falcon, Mavericks, Maroons, LGIQ Cedars, Dark Horses, Hurricanes and Wu Touch Clan.
The day was not restricted to competition; it had plenty of colour, entertainment and razzmatazz including a live band as well as stalls from McDonald’s, Doha Rocks Café, XXL and Tasmeem.
Rico expressed his appreciation to the Cultural Village Foundation - Katara, saying, “The strong support displayed from the outset by Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti and his management teams should not go unnoticed. Katara proved it is serious about hosting and welcoming international sports while at the same time encouraging the community to reap the benefits of participation.”
In the other fixtures, the plate finals saw the Doha Chiefs post an early try which was quickly cancelled by the Hurricanes. The second half was a repeat of the first half both teams scoring a try a piece. The scores were dead locked 2-2 at full time. The Hurricanes sealed a 3-2 victory in extra time.
In the lower bowls final, Blue Falcons posted a try in each half to beat Hurricanes 2-0.
Present at the awards ceremony was Katara’s general services manager Hussien al-Bakir.
