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Qatar made it to the semi-finals in the 16th Asian Men’s Handball Championship, being held at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, in Bahrain. |
The Qataris, one of the tournament’s top title contenders, defeated Oman 29-13 to top the six-team Group ‘B’ and remain unbeaten after four round of matches.
After their impressive eight-goal win over favourites Kuwait on Thursday, Qatar produced yet another impressive performance in this continental championship as they passed a crucial hurdle to go through to the competition’s final four.
Two GCC teams went all out for victory in a well-contested match, in which the Qataris proved the stronger side as they headed into half-time with an eight-goal lead of 15-7.
Oman, who were desperate for a win to steal the second and last seat from this group in the competition’s final four, fought back bravely in the second-half with some organised teamwork while showing high individual abilities.
However, it was not long before the Qataris regained their authority on the game with a solid defence, high pace on the counter attacks and some excellent finishes, which saw them cruise into a 13-goal lead midway into this 30-minute period.
Burja Vidal, Wajdi Sinen, Abdulrazzaq Murad, Nasreddine Megdich, Mustafa al-Salti, Rafael Capote, Hassan Mabrouk and goalkeeper Guran Stujanoiv combined their efforts as they guided Qatar to a well-deserved victory.
Qatar, under their famous Spanish head coach Valero Rivera, now have eight points from four matches and have stretched their lead to four points against Kuwait, Japan and Oman, who are fighting for the second and last ticket into the semi-finals knock-out stage.
The fifth and concluding round of matches will be played today when Oman take on UAE at 3pm. It will be followed by the Kuwait vs Iraq game at 5pm, and Qatar-Japan match at 7pm.
This tournament also acts as a qualifier for the 2015 World Championship, which will take place in Doha, Qatar, where the top three teams from the Asian Championship will go through. Qatar, by virtue of being the host, have already qualified for the 2015 event irrespective of the result at the Bahrain tournament.
