Qatar’s beach handball team began their campaign at the 6th Asian Beach Games – Sanya 2026 with two well-deserved victories over Pakistan and Oman in the opening matches of the men’s competition, which got underway Tuesday.
President of the Olympic Council of Asia and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani attended the games along with Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman al-Kuwari, Second Vice President of the QOC; Jassim bin Rashid al-Buenain, Secretary General of the QOC, and Ahmed al-Shaabi, President of the Qatar Handball Association.
With this strong start, Qatar are top of the group with four points, level with Thailand, boosting their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals and continuing their title defense.
Qatar are drawn in Group B alongside Oman, Jordan, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Thailand and Mongolia. Qatar will continue its campaign Thursday against Bangladesh and Mongolia, before facing Jordan on April 24, Thailand on April 26, and concluding the group stage against Maldives on April 27.
He added that the upcoming phase will be more challenging, stressing that the team has the ability to improve from one match to another, and that all players are determined to continue working with the same spirit to achieve their goal. "We aim to retain the title, and we will do our utmost to continue winning and deliver the best possible performance,” he concluded.
Qatar 3x3 teams learn their path
In 3x3 basketball, the draw placed Qatar’s men’s team in Group C alongside Bahrain, India, and Kazakhstan, while the women’s team was drawn in Group A with China and Kazakhstan.
The men’s competition features 16 teams divided into four groups, while 15 teams are competing in the women’s event across four uneven groups. The competition will follow a round-robin format to determine qualification for the knockout stages.
Qatar’s men will open their campaign on April 25 against Bahrain, before facing Kazakhstan and concluding the group stage against India. The women’s team will begin against China, followed by Kazakhstan. The knockout stage matches will take place on April 28, with the semi-finals and finals scheduled for April 29.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s national sailing team continued its preparations, with the support staff focusing on enhancing the players’ physical and technical readiness, as well as adapting to the marine conditions at the competition venue.
The team will begin its participation Thursday, with Tamim Shams competing in the Optimist event for boys, while Thani Shams will take part in the ILCA 4 competition.
The Games, which conclude on April 30, feature 1,790 athletes representing 45 countries competing in 14 sports: 3x3 basketball, aquatics (open water swimming and water polo), aquathlon, athletics, handball, kabaddi, football, volleyball, wrestling, rowing (dragon boat racing), jujitsu, sailing, sport climbing, and teqball.
Qatar is represented in this edition by 34 athletes competing in seven sports: men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's 3x3 basketball, handball, sailing, aquathlon, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling