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Observer
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman set up Iran final in Asian beach handball
MUSCAT: Oman will take on Iran in a tight final clash of the 10th edition of AHF Asian Beach Handball Championship which will conclude on Thursday after intense competitions in the last few days at the sands court of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The national team players are targeting for their second Asian title after the first one in 2004. The summit clash will kick off at 8 pm while the third and fourth playoff between Jordan and Pakistan will start at 7 pm at the same venue. Oman team, coached by Hamood al Hasani, are all set with confidence to regain the title since the first title which was won in 2004 during the inaugural edition hosted in Muscat. Oman team had arrived to the final in six times but could not win the title except in the opening edition. Oman team secured a slot in the final after a thrilling 2-0 win over Jordan in the semifinal while Iran beat Pakistan with the same result to seal their berth in the concluding match of the Asian event. Both Oman and Iran confirmed their presence in the forthcoming edition of the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championships. Coach Hamood al Hassani and his assistant Jaber al Balushi worked out on a strong tactics to deliver top match against Iran and clinch a new Asian title. The coaching staff prepared the team players for today's assignment against heavyweights Iran team which managed to lift the title in 2022. Oman player makes a goal attempt against Jordan. ONE STEP AWAY Speaking ahead of the final encounter, coach Hamood said:' We are just one step away from the title in our home country. The final against Iran will depend on small areas and the team with less mistakes will get the title. I am fully confident that my players will deliver their outmost efforts towards earning a victory and clinching the title,' he said. 'Our tactics was to focus in each game as final in this tournament and we managed to win all the games until reaching the final. In the semifinal against Jordan, I did some tactical shifts and positional changes which kept the opposition off balance, proving decisive in securing the win,' he added. Moosa bin Khamis al Balushi, Chairman of Oman Handball Association (OHA), appreciated team's fighting spirit in their semifinal triumph. 'Their performance was a true reflection of Omani grit and sportsmanship,' he said. 'We are proud of their qualification to the IHF World Championship next year and I hope they will now take the Asian title.' Al Balushi urged fans to show up in full force for the final: 'I am looking forward to see more fans who are acting as the heartbeat of this team and their energy will be vital as we chase our second continental title,' he concluded. FINAL CEREMONY The final match of the Asian event and concluding ceremony will be held under patronage of His Highness Sayyid Azzan bin Qais al Said, Chairman of Oman Olympic Committee in presence of Dr Hassan Moustafa, International Handball Federation (IHF) President, and other top officials. In the women's division, two matches are scheduled on Thursday. India will face Hong Kong and the match will kick at 5 pm while the title-deciding showdown between Vietnam and Philippines will start at 7 pm. Vietnam currently lead the standings with 10 points, followed by the Philippines with eight and both have punched their tickets to the 2026 IHF World Championship.
Observer
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman blank Saudi to lead Group A, Iran top Group B
MUSCAT: Oman's national beach handball team led Group A at the conclusion of the group stage in the 10th Men's and Women's Asian Beach Handball Championship 'Muscat 2025' which also acts as a qualifier for the 2026 Beach Handball World Championship. Oman team, coached by Hamood al Hasani, earned full six points from three games including the last victory over Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the final group match besides the two victories over Maldives and Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia ended in second place with four points followed by Hong Kong in third with two points and Maldives in fourth place with no points. Oman's Assad al Hasani, Said al Hasani and their teammates delivered a top match against Saudi Arabia as they entered to the second stage of the tournament with high morale to go further. Oman player attempts a shot at Saudi goal. In Group B, Asian heavyweights Iran claimed the top spot with eight points after a convincing 2-0 win over the Philippines in the concluding round. Jordan came in second with six points, Pakistan third with four points, while the Philippines and India followed with two and nil points respectively. In the women's competition, two key matches will take place on Tuesday at the sand court of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The Philippines will face India at 6 pm and it will be followed by Vietnam clash against Hong Kong at 7 pm. The women's competition is being held in a double round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championship. Vietnam currently are leading the group standings by six points and followed by the Philippines with four points and then India with two points while Hong Kong with no points are at the bottom. Oman during an attack at Saudi post. FULL EFFORT Oman's Asaad al Hasani said the team will deliver their full efforts in the forthcoming round after beating Saudi. "The match started strongly from both teams and we lost the focus in the beginning of the first half but we managed to return to the match before end of the opening set. In the second half, we dominated and reached to the opponent's danger area and earned the required points to end the match on a victory note," he said. Saudi team manager Othman Ahmed praised his players' impressive show at the group stage. 'Thanks to the players for their outstanding performance in the group stage. Now, our target is to focus in the next match against Pakistan in quarterfinals (which took place on Monday night). The coaching staff reviewed the opponent's strength and weak points. Our main objective is secure one of the slots for the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championship,' he said. Responding to an inquiry on the tight match schedules, he said: 'All players were trained accordingly to play many games within one week time. Also, our last presence in the GCC Beach Games in Muscat was an advantage for the team as it was a good preparation and we adopted with the environment ahead of the Asian event,' he added.
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.
Observer
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman meet Maldives in Asian beach handball opener
MUSCAT, May 5 Oman beach handball team will begin their campaign at the 10th AHF Asian Men's and Women's Beach Handball Championships with an opening match against debutants Maldives in Group A. The match will kick off at 8 pm at the sands court in Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. India will take on Iran in Group B at 19:00 at the same venue while Pakistan face the Philippines in the other match of the group at 18:00. Oman team, coached by experienced domestic coach Hamood al Hasani, will enter this event with high morale after they claimed the gold in the GCC Beach Games in Muscat last month. This event acted as an opportunity for the team to gear up for the Asian event, which will act as qualifier for the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championship. With the fans support, Oman will be one of top teams which will vie to clinch the title and secure a place in the global event. Oman head coach Hamood al Hasani said the opening match is considered as an essential game to go ahead in the tournament. 'Registering a comfortable victory in the beginning of any tournament will motivate and encourage the players to deliver their outmost in the rest of the games. The team is fully prepared and my advise to the players always is to stay focused and leave no room for surprises,' he said. 'We played two successful friendly matches against Jordan. The matches were important to evaluate the physical and technical readiness of the players. Ten players were selected from the initial 13-man squad for the championship. Despite the physical differences at the Asian level compared to the last GCC Games, I am confident in the team's ability to compete fiercely for the title,' he added. Oman line-up will be selected from Said al Hasani, Yasser al Harthi, Abdulhakim al Siyabi, Bashar al Hinai, Hudhaifa al Siyabi, Asaad al Hasani, Ali al Jaami, Muhannad al Zarafi, Mahdi al Suleimani and Said Issa al Hasani. OPENING CEREMONY The opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday at 8 pm at the sand court of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher under the auspices of Khalid Mohammed al Zubair, Chairman of International Development and Investment Company (Ominvest) in the presence of Moosa Khamis al Balushi, Chairman of Oman Handball Association (OHA) and Chairman of the Organising Committee, besidea attendance of members of the associations board, Asian Handball Federation (AHF) officials, chairmen of participating sports associations and heads of the national delegations. The ceremony will feature a speech by the chief of the organising committee, a speech from the AHF, a welcoming visual presentation titled 'On the Beach Sand, We Write the Story of Champions', followed by a traditional Omani artistic performance titled 'Our Heritage, Our Pride' and 'On the Sand Lies Our Glory'. The tournament will then be officially inaugurated. Oman finished second in the previous edition of the Asian Championship in Bali. Since 2004, the team has earned several accomplishments including: first place in the inaugural Asian Championship in Muscat in 2004, fourth in the World Championship in Chinese Taipei in 2009, fourth in the second Asian Beach Games (Muscat) in 2010, second in the Asian Championship and qualified for the 2012 and 2014 World Championships in 2011 and 2013. Oman were silver medallists in the Asian Beach Games (Phuket) in 2014, second in Asian Championship and qualified for 2016 World Championship in Hungary and finished seventh in 2015, silver in Vietnam and qualified for Thailand World Championship in 2016 and 2017, attended the ninth World Championship in Russia in 2018, second in Asian Games in Bali and qualified for the 2024 World Championship in Pingtan, China in 2023.
Observer
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Oman to meet Jordan ahead of Asian meet
MUSCAT: Oman national beach handball team players entered on Tuesday the final stage of their preparation for the 10th AHF Asian Men's and Women's Beach Handball Championships which will be hosted in Muscat during May 6 to 15. The domestic camp started on Tuesday at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher which will be the venue for the competition and the preparatory gathering will run until May 4. On the other side, a 35-member delegation from the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) will arrive in Muscat on Sunday to begin their tasks for the prestigious Asian event. As part of the ongoing camp, the national team will play two friendly matches against Jordan on Saturday and Sunday. Both matches will serve as a final rehearsal for the coaching staff headed by coach Hamood al Hasani and his assistant coach Jaber al Balushi to evaluate the players' fitness and skill levels and to address both strengths and weaknesses. Also, they will finalise the starting list for the tournament matches. Oman head coach Hamood al Hasani will supervise the daily training sessions which will be separated into two phases including morning sessions that are focused on indoor training at the sports complex while evening sessions will take place on the sand courts to raise the training intensity as the championship approaches its start. The coaching staff will opt the final squad of the team on Sunday including 10 players who will represent the national team in the Asian event. The current squad included Nawaf al Hasani, Saud al Hasani, Mohammed al Balushi, Said al Hasani, Yasser al Harthy, Abdulhakim al Siyabi, Bashar al Hinai, Huthaifa al Siyabi, Asaad al Hasani, Ali al Jami, Muhannad al Zarafi, Mahdi al Sulaimani and Said al Hasani. Oman to meet Jordan ahead of Asian meet OHA CHIEF MEETS PLAYERS Oman Handball Association (OHA) Chairman, Moosa Khamis al Balushi, along with the board of directors, met the players in the camp to ensure close follow up on the team's preparations and to achieve full readiness. The chairman and board members met the players and coaching staff as they encouraged them to double their efforts, maintain high focus and work as a unified team. They praised the technical and administrative staff, along with the players, for their dedication and commitment to training to compete for the Asian title. Oman is clubbed with Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Maldives in Group A at the 10th AHF Asian Men's Beach Handball championship. Group B comprised of Iran, Philippines, Jordan, Pakistan and India. The women's competition will feature only four teams in one group only including Vietnam, Hong Kong, Philippines and India. Dr Salim al Ghilani, Head of the Medical Committee, affirmed the committee's full readiness to provide the necessary medical support throughout the tournament to ensure the safety of all players and teams. 'The committee included over 20 members from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, and the Ministry of Health. The on-field medical teams are equipped with the latest emergency equipment, and specialised medical crews will be stationed at game venues, with additional rotating teams covering the hotels,' he said.
