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Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson said Friday the hot and humid weather will play a big part in their crunch clash against Argentina, with a battle of the fittest on the cards.The Rugby Championship showdown today is being played in tropical Townsville, and in the afternoon, making for a challenging environment.“You’re going to see a lot of boys from both teams who are going to be struggling at points in the game,” said Wilson, who is back in the saddle after a knee injury kept him out of their last Test.“But that’s why we do our pre-seasons, that’s why we work so hard on the training paddock, to be ready for it. “That’s the beauty of taking footy up here. You get different, unique challenges, and it’s probably different to playing in Sydney. We’re ready for that challenge, and we can’t wait for it.”With all four teams in the Rugby Championship so far winning one and losing one, the game is a must-win for Australia and the Pumas ahead of a return leg in Sydney a week later.Both are in good touch with the Wallabies stunning world champions South Africa in Johannesburg last month, before a narrow defeat in Cape Town.Argentina lost their round one clash against New Zealand but bounced back emphatically to topple the All Blacks for the first time on home soil.Under coach Joe Schmidt, Australia have come a long way from being crushed 67-27 by Argentina in Santa Fe last year and Pumas skipper Julian Montoya is expecting a tough encounter.“That game (in Santa Fe) was a year ago, even more,” he told reporters. “And you see the path they’re on now - an amazing series against the (British and Irish) Lions, beat the Springboks at Ellis Park and almost beat them again in the last game.“It’s a world-class team and we’re expecting the best of them, a proper Test match.”Both sides have made three changes, with Argentina bringing in prop Joel Sclavi, flanker Marcos Kremer and fly-half Santiago Carreras.Australia welcome back Wilson, while Andrew Kellaway takes over from injured wing Tom Wright and Tom Lynagh is preferred as playmaker over veteran James O’Connor.

Qatar’s shooting team concluded their campaign at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship on a high note, winning the silver medal in the men’s double trap team event and raising their overall tally to seven medals.The trio of Mohammed al-Rumaihi, Saeed Abu Shareb, and Rashid al-Athba delivered a strong performance, hitting 266 targets across four rounds to secure second place behind hosts Kazakhstan. India claimed the bronze.Al-Rumaihi also finished sixth in the individual double trap event.Qatar’s medal haul also included a silver from Raya Basil in the women’s trap, and five bronze medals across various team and mixed events in trap, skeet, and rifle competitions.The championship, held over two weeks in Shymkent, featured wide participation across Asia in pistol, rifle, skeet, and trap disciplines.Secretary General of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation, Jassim Shaheen al-Sulaiti, hailed the achievement as a result of dedicated preparation and support from the Qatar Olympic Committee, calling it “a launchpad toward broader ambitions.”

Qatar’s athletics team added four more medals including one gold, two silver, and a bronze on Tuesday at the 11th Arab U-18 Athletics Championship in Tunisia, bringing their total to five with one day of competition remaining.Younis al-Balushi led the charge with gold in the pole vault, while teammate Abdullah Al Abdullah secured silver in the same event.Timo Jumaa clocked 10.76 seconds to take silver in the 100m sprint, and Saleh Mahmoud added a bronze in the discus throw to his earlier gold in shot put.

The Qatar chess team is competing in the 1st Fujairah Global Chess Championship, which runs until September 2, with approximately 600 players from both genders, hailing from 75 countries, competing across three main categories.With a total prize fund of $125,000, the contests feature the superstar division for players rated 2560 and above, including 44 grandmasters within the FIDE circuit, the world’s strongest ranked events, the master division for players rated above 2200, with around 330 participants, as well as the open division for players rated below 2200.The Qatar team includes International Master (IM) Hussein Aziz, Khaled al-Jumaat, Hamad al-Kuwari, Turki al-Kuwari, Fahad al-Mansouri, Ibrahim al-Janahi, Saif Ahmed, Layan al-Qassabi, and Rawda al-Qassabi.In addition, International Arbiter (IA) Sara al-Mahmadi is set to participate in the International Fair Play Seminar on the margins of the tournament from August 28-31.The Qatar News Agency (QNA) spoke with Qatar Chess Association (QCA) president Mohammed al-Mudahka, who asserted that hopes are high for the national team to achieve incredible results throughout this participation, which is set to yield significant gains amid the presence of a contingent of players ranked among the world’s top 100 in chess.Al-Mudahka further indicated that all preparations are fully primed for those players, describing the tournament as one of the most powerful globally in terms of the average rating of the participating players, with some 600 players coming from a wide swath of countries.He noted that these competitions receive tremendous global interest and are directly broadcast on FIDE’s website, as well as other renowned global platforms.

Qatari shooters continued their strong showing at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan securing three medals - one silver and two bronze - in the trap and rifle events Monday.Raya Bassil claimed silver in the women’s trap, finishing second in a highly competitive final featuring shooters from India, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Iran. Qatar also took bronze in the men’s trap team event through Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Saeed Abu Shareb, and Angelo Scalzone, who scored 340 across five rounds. The second bronze went to Amal Mahmoud in the mixed 20+20 rifle event.Last week, Qatari shooters won three bronze medals in skeet. Ali Ahmed Al-Ishaq earned one in the men’s individual, then teamed up with Mohammed Al-Kuwari and Rashid Saleh Al-Athba to claim bronze in the men’s team event. Al-Ishaq also partnered with Sarah Ghulam for a third bronze in the mixed skeet.The Qatari delegation, led by Ahmed Al Kuwari and team manager Nawal Al Sulaiti, includes around 32 shooters competing in pistol, rifle, skeet, and trap events.President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation, Dr. Mishaal Ibrahim Al-Nasr, praised the athletes’ performance, attributing their success to the country’s leadership and the team’s dedicated preparation. “These medals mark a qualitative leap in Qatar’s shooting history,” he said, adding that the momentum will continue into the World Championship in Doha this December.The championship continues tomorrow with the women’s 30m rifle 3 positions final.