Asian champions Qatar will look for their second successive win in the men’s handball Asian qualification tournament for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, when they take on India at the Al Duhail Indoor Arena today. The hosts had started their campaign in style with a 49-14 rout of Hong Kong on Thursday. The tournament, which ends on October 26, will see eight teams battle to grab a spot alongside Japan, who have already qualified automatically as hosts.
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals and then final, with the winner booking their ticket through to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The runner-up will qualify for the IHF Olympic qualification in April. Qatar are clear favourites going into the tournament, which sees Kuwait’s men return to an IHF event, since the lifting of their 2015 suspension. It is the second time in a row that Qatar is hosting the Asian Men’s Handball Qualifiers for the Olympic Games.
In another Group A match today, Saudi Arabia, who had defeated India 35-24 in their opening match, will take on Hong Kong at 4pm.
In yesterday’s Group B matches, Iran scored a nail-biting win over South Korea 28-27 win over, while Bahrain beat Kuwait 26-21.
The Iran-South Korea went down to wire with fortunes fluctuating frequently. The Iranian team held a 13-12 lead after the end of first half, while South Korean ran their rivals close they could not get past Iran. The Group B matches resume tomorrow with South Korea taking on Kuwait, while Iran and Bahrain clash.
Qatar thrashed Hong Kong 49-14 in their opening match of Asian handball qualification tournament for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
