Oman take on UAE at Asian junior handball

MUSCAT, Sept 23 - Oman national handball (U-16) team will take on the Unite Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday at the Asian Championship which is currently under way in Jordan. The match will be a placement tie for eighth to 12th positions. Oman players are keen to register their third victory in the tournament as they beat Syria 30-25 and edged China 25-24. The results will encourage Khalil al Mashari’s men to end the tournament in a good position. Oman already had played twice against UAE during friendly matches in the last Suhar preparatory camp. The first friendly match ended in favour of UAE 25-22, while Oman beat UAE in the second preparatory match 26-22.

Oman had sufficient break during the matches resulting in better recovery of injured players. Also, coach Khalil al Mashari worked on addressing the weak points in Oman’s game. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia sealed their qualification spots to the World Cup in Macedonia after reaching the semifinals round. As many as 16 teams are participating in the eighth edition of the championship. Oman were grouped in the first group along with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and China. The second group comprised Iraq, South Korea, India and Syria.