Oman drawn in tough group at 6th Asian Beach Games

Oman’s national beach handball team has been drawn into Group B of the 6th Asian Beach Games, which will be held in Sanya, China, from April 22 to 30, following the official draw conducted recently.
Group B features Oman alongside Pakistan, Jordan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Thailand, Qatar and Mongolia, making it one of the most competitive groups in the tournament due to the closely matched levels of the participating teams and the rapid development of beach handball across Asia in recent years.
Meanwhile, Group A includes China, Iran, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka and Bahrain, highlighting the strong level of competition expected in the tournament, which will witness wide participation from across the continent.
The Omani team is set to begin its training sessions today at the sand court of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher under the leadership of head coach Hamoud bin Salem al Hassani, assisted by Jaber bin Yaqoub al Balushi. The coaching staff aims to make the most of the current preparation period to enhance the players’ physical and technical readiness ahead of the competition.

A squad of 16 players has been selected for the first phase of preparations, which will run from March 23 to 31. The squad includes: Yasser bin Saeed al Harthy, Saeed bin Hamad al Hassani, Nawaf bin Khalid al Hassani, Saud bin Nasser al Hassani, Azzan bin Najeeb al Maashari, Hamad bin Hamoud al Hassani, Al Yazan bin Yahya al Busaidy (Muscat Club), Mahdi bin Salem al Sulaimani, Ali bin Salem al Jamii, Muhannad bin Saeed al Zarafi, Mohammed bin Abdulmajeed al Balushi (Seeb Club), Hudhaifa bin Suwaid al Siyabi, Bashar bin Yaqoub al Hinai, Saeed bin Issa al Hassani, Abdulhakim bin Abdullah al Siyabi ‘Oman Club’ and Asaad bin Saeed al Hassani ‘Al Amerat Club’.
The squad will be reduced after the first phase, with daily training continuing from April 1 to 4, before entering a domestic training camp from April 5 to 10. The list will then be trimmed to 10 players ahead of the final preparation stage scheduled for April 11 and 12.
On April 13, the team will depart for an overseas training camp in either Thailand or China, running until April 19, during which several friendly matches will be played to boost match readiness and overall performance.
The delegation will then travel to China on April 20, where Oman will play a friendly match upon arrival to acclimatise to the conditions before the official start of the competition on April 22.
The team’s technical and administrative staff includes head coach Hamoud bin Salem al Hassani, assistant coach Jaber bin Yaqoub al Balushi, team manager Saeed bin Ali al Hassani, administrator Talib bin Afandi al Balushi; and physiotherapist Hossam El Din Adly Abdelhamid.