Qatar triumph to begin title-defence

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions Qatar defeated Chinese Taipei 33- 26 yesterday to kick off their bid for an unprecedented sixth straight title in the 21st Asian Men’s Handball Championship.

The Qataris, winners of the tournament’s past five editions, lived up to their tag as one of the favourites with their opening triumph in Group A of the competition’s preliminary round.

They raced out to a quick 6-1 lead early in the contest and never looked back.

A Zarko Markovic goal gave them a 17-11 advantage at the half, and they did well to close things out in the final 30 minutes for the final seven-goal winning margin.

“We know that this competition is special for us and it is very hard.

Now all the teams are ready for this championship, and we will take it game by game and I hope in the final we will be in first place,” Qatar’s veteran pivot Youssef Ben Ali told TDT.

“We are now thinking only about this competition; we keep going, keep positive, and today we won and now we are only thinking about the next game.”

Markovic top scored for the Qataris in yesterday’s win with six goals, while three others contributed five each, including Ahmad Madadi, Frankis Marzo and Moustafa Heiba.

Allaedine Berrached and Wajdi Sinen scored three apiece, while Ben Ali finished with two goals.

Chao Hsein-Chang was the top performer for Chinese Taipei with nine goals yesterday, while Huang Chun-Wei added four.

Record Qatar are aiming to beat the record of nine-time champions South Korea of five straight Asian titles, won in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993.

The Qataris had been successful in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and in 2022.

Qatar are back in action tomorrow when they face off with Gulf rivals Oman, while Chinese Taipei take on Kuwait.

The Kuwaitis edged past the Omanis 27-26 in yesterday’s other Group A fixture.

Meanwhile, in Group B, Iran beat New Zealand 40-13, while South Korea came up with the key late-game plays in a tight 32-30 win over China, also in Group B.

The preliminary round continues until Tuesday next week.

The field has been divided into four groups for this stage, at the end of which the top two from each move on to the main round and stay in contention for the coveted title.

The bottom two squads will compete for the Martyr Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah Cup.

Today, Bahrain are in action against Hong Kong at 7pm in the last of the day’s four games.

All are welcome to attend. Entrance to the venue is completely free of charge.