(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar are one win away from winning their third straight continental title after subduing hosts South Korea 32-21 in the semi-finals of the Asian Handball Championship here yesterday.
In yet another convincing display, Valero Rivera's men totally dominated the home side to set up a title clash with Bahrain tomorrow.
Earlier, Bahrain accounted for Saudi Arabia 20-21 in the other semi-final.
Incidentally, this will be the third straight time Qatar will be taking on Bahrain for the Asian title, having beaten them in the two previous editions.
'I don't have any complaints. We are one match away from the title and my players are fully focused on that, Rivera said after the match.
'I like to take each match as it comes but at the same time we know what our strengths are and are fully confident when we enter the court for the final.
'We beat Bahrain earlier in the tournament and we know we can repeat the feat again, he added.
Frankis Marzo was the star for Qatar with eight goals from 11 attempts while Youssef Ben Ali and Mahmoud Hasaballa had four each. Qatari goalkeeper Danijel Saric also brought off some splendid saves to help his team's cause, blocking 14 shots and preventing South Korea from getting close.
Qatar were off the blocks quickly, taking a 2-0 lead but the Koreans soon hit back to equalise. The pattern continued, with the Koreans bouncing back to level the scores at 5-5 a few minutes later.
But Anis Zawawi scored a brilliant 6-metre goal past Korean goalkeeper Lee Chang-woo from a fast break to put Qatar 6-5 ahead. Then it was Bertrand Roine's turn to excel as he replicated Zawawi's feat with another fast break goal to help Qatar go up 7-5.
Qatar continued to keep themselves ahead by two points until the 21st minute but goals from Frankis and Zawawi saw them take a 12-8 lead.
The Koreans couldn't cope with such a deficit and ended the first half trailing 14-8.
In the second session, however, it was Qatar all the way. By the 10th minute, they had taken a 20-10 lead virtually leaving the South Koreans with a mountain to climb. Goalkeeper Saric was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the match.
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