page_title: Doha
section_title: Other sports
hierarchical_section_title: Doha / Sports / Other sports
caption_attribution_description: English: Orry the Oryx, mascot of the 15th Asian Games, on the Corniche in Doha, Qatar on a foggy night. Belhambar Restaurant is in the background.
context_page_description: Doha is the capital and most populous city of the State of Qatar. It has a population of 956,460. The city is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the east of the country, North of Al Wakrah and South of Al Khor. It is Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and it is political and economic center of the country.
  Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda. It was officially declared as the country's capital in 1971, when Qatar gained independence from being a British Protectorate. As the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, Doha is considered a beta-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Doha accommodates Education City, an area devoted to research and education; Hamad Medical City, an Hamad Medical Corporation administrative area of medical care which includes Hamad General Hospital, Heart Hospital, Women's Wellness and Research Center and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute as well as a number of specialty clinics and support infrastructure.
context_section_description: In 2001, Qatar became the first country in the Middle East to hold a women's tennis tournament with the inauguration of its Qatar Ladies Open tournament. Doha also hosts International Tennis Federation (ITF) ladies tournaments. Since 2008, the Sony Ericsson Championships (equivalent to the ATP's season-ending Championships) has taken place in Doha, in the Khalifa International Tennis Complex, and features record prize money of $4.45 million, including a check of $1,485,000 for the winner, which represents the largest single guaranteed payout in women's tennis.
  Doha hosted the 15th Asian Games, held in December 2006, spending a total of $2.8 billion for its preparation. The city also hosted the 3rd West Asian Games in December 2005. Doha was expected to host the 2011 Asian Indoor Games; but the Qatar Olympic Committee cancelled the event.
  The city submitted a bid for the 2016 Olympics. On June 4, 2008, the city was eliminated from the shortlist for the 2016 Olympic Games. On August 26, 2011 it was confirmed that Doha would bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Doha however failed to become a Candidate City for the 2020 Games.
  The MotoGP motorcycling grand prix of Doha is held annually at Losail International Circuit, located just outside the city boundaries. The city is also the location of the Grand Prix of Qatar for the F1 Powerboat World Championship, annually hosting a round in Doha Bay. Beginning in November 2009, Doha has been host of The Oryx Cup World Championship, a hydroplane boat race in the H1 Unlimited season. The races take place in Doha Bay.
  In April 2012 Doha was awarded both the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships and the 2012 World Squash Championships. The fourth World Mindsports Championships took place in Doha from August 19 to August 27, 2017 with the participation of more than 1,000 competitors.
  In 2014, Qatar was selected as the host of the 2019 World Athletics Championships, which is the seventeenth edition of the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Doha won the bid to host the event over Barcelona and Eugene.
  In 2020, Doha hosted the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, which received the Tournament of the Year award in the 250 category from the 2019 ATP Awards. The tournament won the award for the third time in five years.
caption: Orry the Oryx, mascot of the 15th Asian Games, on the Doha Corniche in 2014
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