Latest news with #AsianBeachHandballChampionship
Observer
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman battle Saudi Arabia at Asian Beach Handball Championship
MUSCAT, May 10 Oman's national beach handball team will take on Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a tight clash at the underway Asian Beach Handball Championship. Oman team, coached by coach Hamood al Hassani, will eye to conclude group stage to be in the topper of group A following their two successive victories over Maldives and Hong Kong in the previous rounds of the Asian prestigious event. Both Oman and Saudi Arabia confirmed their presence to the quarters of the tournament as the latter also registered two victories against Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. Oman are currently leading group A with goals difference than Saudi Arabia who are position as runners-up in the group. Today's clash will determine the group leader. The group (A) leader will meet the fourth placed team in group B. Oman and Saudi Arabia clash will take place 8:00 PM at the sand court of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Both teams met recently in the GCC Beach Games which concluded last month in Muscat as Oman beat Saudi Arabia in two games. Oman team players are eyeing to secure slot in the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championships in Morocco as this Asian tournament acted as qualifiers to the global stage event. Oman Head Coach Hamood al Hassani said that he is fully satisfied with the team's performances till now in the Asian event. ' Our target is to claim group leader tonight and then focus on securing a spot in the final. Saudi Arabia is one of the tight teams in the group following their outstanding who in the last two games in the group. However, we managed to defeat them in last month and my team players are in good shape to deliver top match,' he added A total of six matches will take place across the men's and women's competitions on Sunday. In the Women's Matches, Hong Kong will meet India at 6:00 pm while Vietnam will face Philippines and the match will kick off at 7:00 pm. The women's event followed a double round-robin format, with the Philippines currently leading the standings after two 2–1 wins over Hong Kong and India. Vietnam also remains a strong contender after defeating India 2–0. In the Men's Matches, the Asian heavyweights Iran will Philippines and the game will start at 6:00 pm while Hong Kong will take on Maldives in the match that will start one hour later. India and Jordan will be in a tight clash at 8:00 pm while in the same timing Oman and Saudi Arabia will conclude the group stage matches. In the previous round, Pakistan defeated India 2–0 in a thrilling fixture while Saudi Arabia beat Maldives 2–0 to snatch their second straight win in the tournament. Iran edged Jordan 2–1 via penalty shootout after a 1–1 tie. In the women's bracket, Philippines beat India 2–1 and Vietnam triumphed over Hong Kong 2–0. Dr Hassan Moustafa, President of the International Handball Federation (IHF), will arrive in Muscat on Monday for an official visit. During his visit, he will attend the Asian championship matches beside holding an official meetings with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MoCSY) and the Oman Olympic Committee. Furthermore, he will meet with Moosa bin Khamis al Balushi, Chairman of Oman Handball Association (OHA) and Head of the Organising Committee.
Observer
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman blank Hong Kong to secure slot in Asian quarters
MUSCAT, May 8 Oman's national beach handball team secured their second straight win at the underway Asian Beach Handball Championship in Muscat following their triumph over Hong Kong by 2-0 in Group A on Thursday night. The tournament which is taking place at the sands court at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex acts as Qualifiers for the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championships in Morocco and Oman team will eye to secure one of the two direct tickets to the global event. The victory over Hong Kong took Oman to the quarterfinals of the Asian event. According to the playing format of this championship in Muscat, after the teams in each group have played each other, the top four in each will move through directly to the quarterfinals on Monday and subsequent semifinals are scheduled on Tuesday while the final on Thursday. Oman team will play their final group match on Sunday against Saudi Arabia in a tight clash. Oman team, coached by Hamood al Hasani, are one of the favourites in this tournament with the home support. Furthermore, 2025 marks the fourth time for Muscat city to host the event, following the inaugural event in 2004, the third edition in 2011 and the fifth in 2015. Oman head coach Hamood al Hasani affirmed that Oman team is developing from one match to another. 'We have the excitement and clear target in this event. The first focus is to deliver our best performance in the group stage matches. Then, we will prepare for the forthcoming matches in the next phases of the tournament,' he added. In the other group games, Philippines tasted their first victory in the tournament after two defeats against Pakistan and Jordan as they beat India by 2-0 in a thriller in Group B. Jordan earned another victory with a 2-1 win over Pakistan while Iran beat India by 2-0. In the women's competition category actions which started on Thursday, Vietnam started their campaign on a positive note following their victory over India by 2–0 while the Philippines stunned Hong Kong 2–1 after a closely contested match which ended in a 1–1 draw and then decided by a penalty shoot-out for Philippines.
