Oman beat Qatar to reach West Asia semis
Muscat, May 9
Oman's national beach volleyball team continued its impressive performance in the West Asia Men's and Women's Championship, held at Al Gharafa Beach Courts in Doha, Qatar, by securing a well-deserved 2-1 victory over host nation Qatar to book a spot in the semifinals, where they will face Saudi Arabia.
The match was thrilling and full of momentum shifts. Qatar started strongly, capitalising on home advantage and crowd support to take the first set 21-17. Qatar's player Abdullah opened the scoring and although Oman's duo of Mazen al Hashmi and Hood al Jalbubi fought back with consecutive points, minor errors and Qatar's pressure prevented a full comeback, allowing the hosts to claim the opening set.
In the second set, Oman came in more focused despite an early Qatari lead following a mishit by Hood al Jalbubi. However, the Omani pair quickly regained composure, with Al Jalbubi scoring brilliantly, including a smart drop shot that deceived the Qatari defence. Despite trailing 3-1, Oman showed great fighting spirit, gradually closing the gap and overtaking Qatar with a series of clever plays and successful counter-attacks to narrowly win the set 21-19.
In the decisive set, Oman completely dominated from the start. Mazen al Hashmi opened the scoring, followed by a series of points from Hood al Jalbubi, while Qatar appeared unsettled. Oman maintained momentum, extending the lead to 4-0 and later 13-3, before comfortably sealing the set and victory 15-6.
With this win, Oman continues their positive run after opening the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain.
YOUTH TEAM OUT
Meanwhile, the Omani youth team, represented by Khalfan al Maamari and Saleh al Jalbubi, exited the tournament after losing 2-0 to both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, despite showing promising moments during the matches.
The championship features 19 teams from seven countries: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon. Eleven men's teams and eight women's teams are competing in a group stage format before advancing to the knockout rounds, which conclude on May 10.
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