Oman beach handball team sealed a berth in the 2024 IHF Men's Beach Handball World Championships after defeating Iran 2-0 in the semifinal of the ninth Asian Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championship on Friday in Bali, Indonesia. The triumph meant, Oman will face Qatar in the final match of the Asian event on Sunday.
Oman team had attended several times in the IHF Men's Beach Handball World Championships and the next presence will be the seventh time for Oman in history.
The first presence of Oman returned to 2004 where the team ended in the eighth position while in the 2010 edition Oman finished in ninth position. In the third participation in 2012, the team progressed and finished in eighth place. Later in 2014, Oman had dropped and positioned in 12th place and in the following edition they had jumped to end in seventh place. In 2018, the team had finished in 10th place. Oman beach handball’s men had qualified for Italy edition in 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak.
In the thrilling semifinal against Iran, Oman team showed a solid performance that confirmed its progression to the next round. Coached by experienced Hamood al Hasani, the Omani men began the first set strongly to claim it 23-11.
In the deciding set, the rivals pressed hard to score the equlaiser and take the match into tie-breaker.
The Iranian players were more focused in this half and they reduced the gap and equalised before Oman’s players snatched two more points in the dying minutes to end the set by 22-20. Oman advanced to the final of Asian Championship and confirmed their presence in the IHF Men's Beach Handball World Championships.
OMAN TOP GROUP
Oman topped Group C with 10 points from five victories while Vietnam finished second with eight points and Kuwait in third place with six points. Indonesia, China and Hong Kong came in the fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively.
Ali al Alawi, Oman Handball Association (OHA) treasurer and head of Oman’s delegation, congratulated the players for the achievement. “I am proud of our national beach handball team players for their tremendous show. The OHA board directors set different goals and targets including Oman team progression to the IHF Men's Beach Handball World Championships. We are very pleased this milestone occurred. The next step is to gear up for the final match of the Asian event and compete for the title. Later, the team will have a clear technical preparation plan that assist Oman team to show top performance in the world-class event,” he concluded.
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