International Handball Federation commission chairman Leon Kalin conducts the draw for the 2015 World Men’s Handball Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel yesterday.
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The draw ceremony of the Qatar 2015 World Men’s Handball Championship, which was held in in Doha yesterday, saw Qatar being placed in Group A of the competition. The draw, graced by the presence of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, was conducted by International Handball Federation (IHF) Commission Chairman Leon Kalin. It took place in front of a packed house made up of representatives from the 24 participating teams and international media delegates. |
According to the IHF rules, the host country – Qatar – had the right to pick the group they want to be placed in. There were six rows of teams and they were placed into four groups through the draw. After five rows of teams were done, there was a 10-minute break given to Qatar to decide which group they wanted to be placed in. And Qatar coach Valero Rivera came up on stage and announced that they had picked Group A which includes defending world champions Spain. The other teams in Group A are Brazil, Chile, Slovenia and Belarus.
“All groups are tough but keeping with our aiming of progressing as far into the tournament as we can, we believe that Group A gives us the best chance. And so we have picked that group,” said Rivera explaining the choice.
The Championship will take place at three venues which are currently being readied, and Qatar 2015 Director General Dr Thani Abdulrahman al-Kuwari expressed his confidence that the teams and visitors would enjoy the facilities.
“The organising committee worked hand in hand with the IHF since the day we were awarded the event. The venues will be ready to receive the guests and the participating teams in the world championship. We hope the venues will be of the highest standards. There have been inspections by certain teams and they have expressed their complete satisfaction. We will also test these venues in the upcoming events before the 2015 World Championships,” he said during the event yesterday.
“What Qatar aspires to do is to organise more such events which will benefit the sport. And not just handball but also other sport,” he added.
IHF President Hassan Moustafa said that he was happy with the preparations so far and was confident that the event would be a grand success. “Qatar is now organising the most important event that is the world championship. We have to recognise the support provided by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani who always recognises the people who work hard,” he said.
This was the first time that the team representatives and the media contingent from the respective countries attended the draw. And as the team names were being announced the gasps and the cheers told the tale of how the team’s representatives felt.
It is now time for the teams to plan their strategies after studying their opponents. The 24th edition of the World Men’s Handball Championship promises to be a high octane affair with all the teams eager to remove Spain from the top perch.
The Groups
Group A: Spain, Belarus, Qatar, Slovenia, Chile, Brazil
Group B: Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Austria, Iran, Tunisia
Group C: France, Sweden, Algeria, Czech Republic, United Arab Emirates, Egypt
Group D: Denmark, Poland, Russia, Argentina, Bahrain, Germany
