tag

Qatar opened their campaign in the main round of the Asian Handball Championship with a 32-25 win over Saudi Arabia Thursday. Ahmad Madadi led the scoring for Qatar with eight goals, followed by Frankis Marzo with six, while Rafael Capote and Nasreddine Megdich added four goals each. Qatar will take on Bahrain Friday, before meeting United Arab Emirates Saturday in search of a place in the semi-finals. The tournament, currently being held in Sabah Al-Salem, Kuwait, also serves as a qualifier for the World Men’s Handball Championship. 

President of the Qatar Handball Association Ahmed al-Shaabi was elected by acclamation as the Asian Handball Federation's (AHF) representative to the International Handball Federation (IHF) during the 25th Ordinary General Assembly of the Asian Handball Federation in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday. Al-Shaabi's election to this important position underscores the high level of trust placed in him and his extensive experience within the handball system. It also reflects the prominent presence of Qatari talent and its active role in international sports decision-making. The General Assembly meeting also elected by acclamation Kuwait's Badr Al Theyab as President of the AHF for the 2025-2029 term. The new board includes Iran's Alireza as first vice president; Jordan's Sari Hamdan, Bahrain's Ali Ishaqi, and Chin's Wang Tao as vice presidents, and Pakistani Muhammad Shafiq as Secretary General. It also included Thai Sombat Kuruphan, Emirati Mohammed Julfar, Iraqi Ahmed Riyadh, Omani Ameen Al Barwani, South Korean Jung Choi, and Kazakh Gulnara Turlykhanova. 

Qatar wrapped up its campaign at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh with three medals — a silver in fencing and bronze medals in handball and athletics — bringing its overall tally to 11 (3 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).The men’s foil team of Khalid al-Yafei, Adham al-Deeb and Abdullah Khalifa won silver after a tight 43-45 loss to Uzbekistan in the final, having beaten the UAE in the semi-finals. The men’s and women’s epee teams were eliminated in the Round of 16.Qatar’s handball team claimed bronze after a 36–28 win over the UAE, overcoming the disappointment of a narrow semi-final defeat to Bahrain. They topped their group with three victories before finishing the tournament with a 4–1 record.In athletics, Abubaker Haydar secured bronze in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:46.26, while Moaz Ibrahim was placed fourth in the discus throw. In camel racing, Hazam Abdullah al-Nadeela finished fourth in the 2km event at Al-Janadriyah.

Qatar under-17 national handball team concluded its participation in the inaugural edition of the World Cup held in Morocco, finishing in fourth place after losing to Spain 23-35 in the third-place and bronze medal match on Saturday.The match between Qatar and Spain came amid high hopes of achieving a historic feat and claiming the bronze medal, after Qatar had advanced to the semifinals as the best second-placed team in the group stage.Qatar finished runner-up in Group B, earning two victories against Tunisia (38-30) and South Korea (45-24), and suffering one loss against Spain (23-41).In the semifinals, Qatar lost to Germany (22-39), which led them to play the third-place match against Spain. Despite the score difference, the Qatari players delivered a strong performance and showed great fighting spirit.Reaching the semifinals of the tournament marks a continuation of the remarkable international successes achieved by Qatari handball at various levels, most notably the silver medal won at the World Men's Handball Championship held in Doha in 2015. This achievement reflects the ongoing development of Qatar's youth programs and the national team's consistent presence among the top competitors worldwide.As for the final match, it brought together the Egyptian and German teams, and ended with Germany's victory (44-43) after extra time, during which the Germans secured the win following a marathon match full of dramatic turns.Germany led the first half (18-17) before Egypt rallied in the second half and came close to victory. However, the Germans scored an equalizer in the final seconds, then clinched the title of the inaugural edition of the championship in extra time.