Ibn Taymiyyah Independent Secondary School grabbed top honour as this year’s edition of the School Olympic Program (SOP) concluded with thrilling finals at Aspire Dome yesterday.
Top officials including Jassem al-Buainain, Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and national football stars – Akram Afif, Salem al-Hajri and Tariq Sulaiman – were among the high number of spectators as schoolboys fought for titles in five finals yesterday.
The title-deciding matches played yesterday included finals in football, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and tennis. Ibn Taymiyyah secured the coveted football title after edging out Palestine School 1-0 following an interesting battle.
Expressing his delight, al-Buainain praised the level of competition and motivation among young competitors during the finals. “It was great to see these youngsters competing with such a passion. All the hardwork by School Olympic Program has started paying dividend,” al-Buainain said on the sidelines of the finals.
“The School Olympic Program is part of Qatar National Vision 2030, and I am very happy that it is progressing well. This edition turned out to be a huge success,” he added.
The QOC Secretary-General also thanked Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and Aspire for their co-operation.
“We are delighted to partner with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. We also thank Aspire for hosting the final programme of the School Olympic Program. We are always keen to distinguish the School Olympic Program, which started in 2007 as one of the projects that is the legacy of the Asian Games 2006. The programme is supported by the leadership of the Qatar Olympic Committee,” said the top QOC officials.
“School sports are among the priorities of the Qatar Olympic Committee. We strive to achieve the programme’s strategic objectives, achieve future sports excellence and spread sports in various fields in Qatar,” he added.
Meanwhile, Abdulrahman al-Muftah, Executive Director of Qatar Sports Federation (QSF), said the organisers achieved their target with another successful edition of SOP.
“We are pleased with what has been achieved not only on the final day, but in the programme in general. It is a great success which will continue to give positive results in the future,” said Al-Muftah.
“This success brings us more responsibility to deliver the best in the next stage and the next edition will be the best,” he concluded.
Secretary-General of QSF, Ali al-Hitmi praised young athletes and thanked all the top officials who made the finals a resounding success.
“We are pleased with this special day and with the great attendance of all officials and the various schools in the five finals,” said al-Hitmi.
“It was also a special day in the presence of the stars of our team and the participation of students in this celebration especially as they represent role models for these young players and such attendance has a good and distinctive reaction of students,” he added.
Winners of the School Olympic Program celebrate with the officials at the Aspire Dome yesterday.
