Qatar top group with win over Iran

Defending champion and 2015 world silver medallist Qatar defeated Iran 35-20 to cement its position at the top of the Group A at the 18th Asian Games yesterday.Both the teams had already reached the second round after the Iranian team defeated Malaysia 55-11 on Thursday.Qatar, who defeated Malaysia 64-11 in the opening game, are eyeing to retain the gold medal they won in the South Korean city of Incheon in 2014. Qatar had beat Korea 24-21 in the final then.Thirteen teams are taking part in handball competitions of the Asian Games. They were divided into four groups. Group A comprises Qatar, Iran and Malaysia. Group B has South Korea, Japan and Pakistan. Group C includes Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, while Group D consists of Bahrain, Chinese Taipei, India and Iraq.Meanwhile, the Qatar swimming team arrived in Jakarta on Thursday to participate in Games.The Qatar team, which organised a camp in Slovakia to prepare for the tournament, will be represented by eight swimmers: Noah Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Yaqoub Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Abdulaziz Hasan al-Obaidli, Musallam Abdullah al-Nabit, Hasan Abdulrahman al-Obaidan, Abdulrahman Hisham Mohamed, Yousef Hisham Mohamed and Firas Murad al-Saidi.The swimming event will be held from August 19 to 24.