Qatar went down fighting to Spain 26-28 in their final match of the Qatar International Handball Tournament at the Al Duhail Indoor Hall yesterday.
The hosts put up a valiant fight against the European champions, but fell short in the end. At half-time Qatar were just a point behind Spain at 12-13.
Spain by virtue of winning two matches and drawing one, topped the four-nation friendly event with five points. Asian champions Qatar were second with four points, having won two matches prior to their loss to Spain.
Argentina finished third after they edged past Tunisia 28-27 yesterday.
The friendly tournament was being conducted as Qatar and three other teams prepare for the World Championship in Egypt to be held from January 13-31. At next month’s IHF event, Al Annabi, drawn in Group C, open their campaign against Angola in what will be a rematch of one of the most memorable matches from the 2019 World Championships.
The EURO 2020 runners-up Croatia and Japan are the other teams in their group.
Qatar coach Valero Rivera had hoped to test the squad against tough opponents ahead of the Worlds and he would have been pleased with what he saw from his players. Rafael Da Costa Capote, Youssef Benali and Ahmed Madadi all impressed in the tournament, while goalkeeper Medan Abdi also stood out with his terrific saving skills.
In the last few months, the Qatar team underwent several training camps besides featuring in a number of friendly matches, including games against top clubs of Qatar. Rivera wanted to have a camp in a European country but the travel restrictions in place due to Covid-19 pandemic meant Qatar had to train at home.
Meanwhile, Qatar Handball Association president Ahmed al-Shaabi said the tournament had achieved its goals.
“The tournament achieved its objectives, which was to provide teams with game time. The tournament witnessed high quality matches from top teams. All the teams that participated have benefited from the tournament and the international federation (IHF) has praised the organisation of the tournament,” al-Shaabi said.
“We have received praise from officials of the IHF for hosting this tournament in the difficult times. Qatar, is always a safe place to host various sporting events,” he added.
Qatar player Wagdy Sinan said the tournament was a vital rehearsal for the World Championships.
“The tournament was a strong dress rehearsal for the World Championship next month. We came away with some useful match practice against some tough opponents. We succeeded in achieving the goal we had set out and we look forward to working hard ahead of the Worlds,” Sinan said.