(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Armstrong Vas | The Peninsula
Doha: Hosts Qatar began their handball campaign in the men's section of the inaugural Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games on a winning note.
Yesterday at Al Gharafa Club, the hosts started by winning their opening two Group B matches. In the morning session, Qatar bounced back to down Croatia and followed it up by defeating Hungary in the evening session.
Qatar's Sid Kenaoui was delighted with the result.
'I am used to trick shots. And especially shots that can settle the score. I did it before and I had the opportunity to do it here. I wanted to get a two point goal just to be sure about the win, Kenaoui said after the win.
Spain, the other team in the group picked up a win. Tunisia is the other team in Group B.
In Group A, Brazil, Sweden and Denmark finished unbeaten with two wins each, the group also includes USA and Australia.
In the women's handball, World Champions, Greece, launched their campaign with two wins and share Group B top spot with Spain who also won twice.
Brazil and Hungary top Group A after a pair of wins apiece.
Qatar will compete in seven sports from today till October 16 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, beach handball, karate kata, beach wrestling, open water swimming and aquathlon.
Meanwhile, at the specially constructed Beach Soccer venue at Al Katara Beach, large crowds watched the men's and women's competitions kick-off.
Spain, Italy and Ukraine were among those to impress with comfortable wins in the men's tournament, while in the women's section, Brazil, Spain, Great Britain and Russia all got off to winning starts.
Brazil's women's beach soccer player Jasna Continentina Nagel said the first win in the tournament will give them confidence ahead of the tough matches.
'It was our first game as the national team and we were a bit nervous. As we got calmer, it got easier for us, with respect to the other team of course, who were very strong. Now we certainly feel very confident (going into their next group games).
Brazil women's team defeated Cape Verde 7-2, while Russia defeated United states 3-1.
Liubov Komarova of Russian Women's Beach Soccer team said they have set the bar very high and the first win will motivate them to go for the gold.
'Every time, in each game, we want to do our best, so our expectations are pretty high…For sure we have a chance to win (gold), we're supposed to win.
The Beach Soccer competitions will continue today.
As well as the Opening Ceremony, today's action will see the group matches continue in Beach Handball, with Beach Karate, Beach Tennis and Beach Volleyball all launching their competition programmes.
MENAFN1210201900630000ID1099115882
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.