Children perform during the closing ceremony yesterday.
By Joe Koraith/Doha
What makes for a perfect setting at the final of a sporting event?
You need two strong teams, both keen to make history. So you had France, looking to get a triple crown - Olympic, European and world championship - for the second time ever. And Qatar, looking to win their first-ever world championship title.
But most of all you need passionate spectators. Fans, who will compete to the loudest, putting their lungs to the utmost test. And yesterday, during the final of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship, the Lusail Multipurpose hall - all three tiers of it - was full of such and more boisterous fans.
The home side fans were fully equipped with drums and trumpets blaring away to glory. The Spanish supporters group Furia Conquense, brought in to cheer for Qatar, were also helping the home side’s cause in loud measure.
The French fans too had turned up in large numbers, dressed in the team’s colours, dressed up in costumes, faces painted and all of them eager to be as loud as possible.
The mood for the final was set up with a pre-match show which started 15 minutes before the game. It began with a light and sound show where the entire court was covered with white sheets on which videos and graphics commemorating the Qatar 2015 tournament were projected onto.
Then it was the turn of teams to come onto the court, accompanied by drummers. First team on to the court were France and they received a raucous reception from the French fans with Nikola Karabatic receiving the loudest cheer of the lot.
For Qatar, it was Danijel Saric who got a loud cheer. But the loudest cheer was reserved for coach Valero Rivera. The fans knew that Rivera had played a huge role in this team’s success.
The cheering from both sets of fans didn’t go down in volume at any point in the match. Both sets were competing to be the loudest when their team scored a goal. There was a brief decrease in decibel count from the home fans when their team were trailing by more than a five-goal margin in the first half. But then the Qatar team came back strongly and so did the volume of the home fans.
There were many mini-events to keep the fans interested, like the crowd decibel level checker where the spectators were urged to be as loud as possible. For the record, the crowd managed 96 decibels. There were Mexican waves started by the event MC.
Half time break saw a ‘tag Fahed’ contest where two fans, one each from Qatar and France were blindfolded and then asked to find Fahed, the tournament mascot, who had a drummer to indicate his position. After a lot of comic relief, courtesy the French fan who seemed to not hear the drums at all, it was the Qatari fan who finally got hold of Fahed.
There were all sorts of fans who were making their presence felt. This one French fan, for instance, had an air horn which he would play using his stomach. His stomach must have some serious muscle because he would be at it for long bursts of time. He would not even stop when everybody in front of him would turn around and glare at him.
The second half was an intense one with Qatar clawing back the deficit and had their sets of fan egging them on. Goalkeeper Saric made a lot of saves to keep his team in the hunt but in the end it was the lack of goals that proved to be their downfall in the final. And so it was the French that emerged victorious. But keeping Qatar’s run in this tournament in perspective, it is a tremendous achievement and the fans acknowledged it.
“I wish they could have done better. I was here for the game against Poland and I feel they had a better game that day. But I am still extremely proud of my team’s performance. Coming second on the world stage is a huge achievement for Qatar,” said Mohamed Jassim Ma al-Kuwari, an avid Qatar fan.
After the match, Qatar coach Rivera was seen hugging each one of his players and applauding their efforts. The players too were congratulating each other and even did a celebratory huddle. They had fought against the best, defeated most of them and came up short in the end - but only just.
After the intense final, it was time for the closing ceremony. It began with an emotional rendition of the national anthem of Qatar performed by children of the Siwar Choir and was followed by a range of traditional performances that showcased the Qatari culture.
Championship mascot Fahed waved to the crowds, and was joined by a group of French children for the Official Song of the Championship, ‘Live it’, which has now been seen more than six million times on YouTube.
Also, in an interesting use of technology, the spectators were given a LED device which changed colours and flashing patterns according to the rhythm that was showcased during a song called the ‘Heartbeat of the Championship’.
During the ceremony, Dr. Hassan Moustafa, president of the International Handball Federation (IHF) delivered a speech thanking the Qatar 2015 Organising Committee for the hugely successful event and thanked visiting teams and delegations for their participation in the championship.
“I would like to thank the state of Qatar for hosting this event which is the best world championship ever held. I also thank the Qatar Handball Association for the outstanding performance of the Qatar team who have achieved a historical milestone,” said Moustafa.
At the awards ceremony, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Moustafa presented the new world champions France with their gold medals and the newly-unveiled championship trophy that has been designed and conceptualised in Qatar.
The replacement of the trophy is a championship first and has been presented by the State of Qatar to the IHF as a new trophy for all future tournaments. The old trophy will be kept at a museum at the IHF Headquarters.
Second place winner, Qatar was awarded silver medals and bouquets by Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahad al-Sabah and International Handball Federation 1st vice president Miguel Roca Mas.
There was a standing ovation from the crowd when the Qatar team came to receive their silver medals. The players were dancing and cheering as other team members got their medals. A happy bunch they were and deservedly so.
The Emir made it a point to hug and congratulate every member of the Qatar team for their outstanding run in the tournament. It was a nice gesture which will go a long way in making the players feel proud of what they achieved in this tournament.
Qatar 2015 Organising Committee president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and IHF executive committee member Frantisek Taborsky presented the bronze medals to Poland.
Following the awards ceremony, in a symbolic handover to France, Sheikh Joaan handed the IHF flag to Moustafa marking the end of the championship.
The IHF chief in turn handed the flag over to Joel Delplanque, President of the French Handball Federation as they prepare to host the next edition of the tournament in 2017.
The closing ceremony finished with performances by international music artists Kylie Minogue, Taio Cruz and Mani Hoffman. Spectators were also treated to an incredible firework display, as Lusail Multipurpose Hall was illuminated for the night. And it was a great show.
In the end, sadly for the home fans, Qatar lost the match but it was a night that they will remember. Their team had managed to, against all odds, carve their way right up to the higher echelons of the handball world and deservedly so. The spectators were part of this journey - one that they will remember for a lifetime.
