(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar entered the main round of the IHF Beach Handball World Championships following their second group stage win in Heraklion, Greece, yesterday,
Two-time World Championship bronze winners Qatar defeated New Zealand in straight sets (30–14, 28–10) to add two more points to their tally as they finished second in Group D behind Brazil.
Qatar had earlier beaten Portugal 2–1 after going down to five-time world champions Brazil 2-1 in their opening match on Tuesday.
Brazil led Group D with six points, followed by Qatar (4) and Portugal (2) as all three of them advanced to the main round which features the top 12 teams.
Brazil, who have featured in the finals of every edition of Beach Handball Worlds Championships since 2006, yesterday topped Group D to advance with an unbeaten record following their straight-set win (21-16, 21-14) over Portugal.
Qatar, who won the bronze medals in the 2014 and 2016 Championships, qualified for this year's tournament after winning the second place in the Eighth Asian Men's Beach Handball Championship.
Qatar's Ahmed Hassan Mohammed, who scored eight points against New Zealand yesterday, told the Greek Handball Federation's official website that his team is aiming for the top prize.
“We have been preparing for about a month under the heat in Qatar with the temperatures hovering over 40 degrees Celsius. We have worked hard and we want to succeed here in Heraklion,” Mohammed, a veteran of six World Championships and a two-time medallist, said.
“This is the sixth time at the World Championships for Qatar and for me as well. I've played in all previous editions and have won two bronze medals, in 2014 and in 2016. I want to win one more medal in Heraklion, because I do not know if I will be fit enough to return to a World Championships in two years from now,” Mohammed said.
Qatar will take on Denmark and Norway in their Main Round Group 2 matches today.
From other groups, hosts Greece, Croatia, Uruguay, United States, Spain, Argentina, Denmark, Iran and Norway also advanced.
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