Incheon: Qatar thrashed Chinese Taipei 29-19 to sweep their quarter-final round robin league in the handball tournament at the Asian Games here yesterday.
This was Qatar’s sixth consecutive victory in the tournament. Valero Rivera’s boys have encountered precious little opposition so far, sweeping through the preliminary stage before demolishing their rivals in the next stage. Qatar will now take on Iran in the semi-finals on Monday, while Bahrain play South Korea.
Qatar and Taipei were level 11-11 at half-time before the former took control of the match, in which Mahnoud Hassaballa top scored for either side with six goals.
Hassaballa’s effort was all the more significant because he scored from six of the seven chances he got.Vidal Borja also excelled, scoring five from as many attempts while Hamdi Missaoui and Hamad Madadi scored three apiece. Qatar Handball Association President Ahmed Mohamed al-Shaabi was thrilled with yesterday’s win. “It’s unbelievable that we have won six out of six matches in a matter of a week. Obviously it has been a busy schedule but the team are fit. Their physical fitness is unquestionable,” he said.
Al-Shaabi added that they need to keep their feet on the ground in their next match against Iran. “Iran are a dangerous side. We cannot afford to let our guard down,” he said. Meanwhile, Bahrain defeated Kuwait 26-22, while Iran prevailed over Saudi Arabia 26-21.
