Doha, May 14 (QNA) - The 17th edition of the School Olympic Program concluded on Tuesday, at Aspire Dome, with the participation of 4,000 male and female students in 9 team and individual sports, in the presence of the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al -Thani.

The male and female winners were crowned first in various sports competitions. In handball at the secondary school level, the Ali Ibn Abi Talib School achieved first place, while the Palestinian school achieved second place, and the Tunisian school came in third place.

In the high school basketball competitions, the Philippine International School achieved first place, Al-Furqan Primary and Secondary Private School achieved second place, then the Religious Preparatory Secondary Institute came in third place.

In the secondary school volleyball competitions, Ibn Taymiyyah Secondary School for Boys achieved first place, then the MES Indian School ranked second, and Al-Shamal Secondary School for Boys came in third place.

The closing day of the 17th School Olympic Program was attended by HE Mohamed bin Youssef Al Mana, First Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, HE Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al -Thani, President of the Qatar School Sports Federation and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Program and Mohamed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation.

HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al -Thani stressed that the success achieved this year is the result of the efforts made by everyone in order to achieve the desired goals of the School Olympic Program.
He said that the continued support from HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, constituted a great incentive for the school Olympic program to reach the highest levels of success, which contributes to achieving the ambitious goals of Qatari sports, and helps to select talents and develop them under the supervision of highly qualified technical staff.

He noted that the goals of the School Olympic Program are subject to the vision and strategy of the Qatar Olympic Committee 2030, which aims to enhance the presence of individual and team sports at the continental and international levels, as well as the ability to compete in Olympic tournaments.

In the same context, Abdulrahman Al-Muftah, Executive Director of the School Olympic Program, confirmed that the 17th edition of the program witnessed an increase in the number of male and female students participating in the program, as well as an increase in the number of schools and an increase in the number of games, which greatly contributed to the success of the program.

He said that the program aims to produce promising talents for the future who will represent the national teams in various games, and coordination is being made with clubs and federations to nurture these talents and develop them as necessary.

For his part, Hamad Yousef Al Obaidli, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the School Olympic Program, said that since the launch of the program in 2007 as a legacy of the Asian Games hosted by Doha in 2006, the program has achieved its goals that were set from the beginning according to a well-thought-out strategy.

The success achieved by this year's edition did not come from nowhere, but rather was the result of the efforts made over the course of an entire season, he added, praising the public attendance that Aspire Dome witnessed on the closing day. (QNA)