MUSCAT, July 23 - Oman beach handball team will commence their campaign at the Beach Handball World Cup in Russia by taking on Denmark team on Tuesday. The match will begin at 10:00 am (Oman Time). Oman players are keen to register a strong start in the championship which will be a confidence booster for the team in the upcoming matches. Oman have geared up for the World Cup after a camp in Croatia which lasted for nine days.
“All our players are ready to have their first match against Denmark after our good preparation for the championship. Concentration from the beginning of the match till the end is very essential to record a win. All the players are aware of their responsibility as they are representing the Sultanate in this World Cup event,” Talib al Hasani, head coach of the beach handball team, said.
“I have given the players required instructions about the styles of playing which I hope to be implemented during the matches. We will go out for a winning start. Having the victory in the first match will strengthen us to register wins in the coming matches. This team has combination of young players who will make their debut along with our experienced members,” the coach added. Hamood al Hasani pointed out that it is difficult to predict the strong and weak sides at the handball beach tournaments. “The sport depends on fitness, concentrations, mental presence in the yard as the match period is very short,” he said.
Talib Afandi, administrative team member, said that the players gained a lot from the Croatian camp as they played very tough friendly matches against some strong European teams. Also, he mentioned that the players had many training sessions in the morning and evening time to raise their physical and technical level.
“During the camp in Croatia, the Oman team participated in a friendly tournament. We played several matches against Croatia, Serbia and Hungary. Despite that we finished fourth, the players performed very well during the matches and improved their technical levels. Later, we participated in another preparatory friendly tournament which featured Hungary, New Zealand and Serbia and we finished second in the tournament,” Talib added.
The official draw of the World Cup grouped the Sultanate along with Qatar, Denmark and Australia teams. As many as 32 teams will feature in the World Cup, 16 teams each in the men’s and women’s competitions. Coach Hamood al Hasani had finalised the list of players to 10 players out of 12 players.
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