SALALAH: The Oman national handball team edged out India 38-37 to advance to the main round of the 16th Asian Youth Handball Championship at the Al Saadah Sports Complex in Salalah on Tuesday.
The competition is a qualifying event for the Youth World Cup in Spain 2019.
Against India, Oman were behind in the first half which India led 21-17. But in the second half, the Sultanate players stepped up their game to eventually prevail 38-37 in a thrilling match. Said al Hasani netted the winner after both the teams were locked 37-37 in the final seconds of the Group D match.
On Wednesday, India beat Yemen 37-24 to post their first win of the championship.
In another match, Iran thrashed Yemen 49-19 for their second win. Iran had drubbed India 48-17 on Monday.
Oman started their campaign with a 38-26 win over Yemen.
Coached by Egyptian Mohammed Abd Elmoety, Oman are currently behind Iran in the group on goal difference as both the teams have four points each. Oman take on Iran on Wednesday to decide the pool topper.
Also advancing to the main round were South Korea and Japan from Group A after posting their second consecutive victories. South Korea beat China 32-27, while Japan thrashed Lebanon 34-12.
From Group B, Iraq defeated Syria 45-22 to ensure their progress from the group along with defending champions Qatar, who had beat Syria.
Bahrain sent Chinese Taipei to their second loss by 38-23 and entered the main round from Group C along with Saudi Arabia. Saudis had won 41-30 against Chinese Taipei on the opening day.
India, Yemen, Chinese Taipei, Syria, China and Lebanon will fight for the 9-14th spots, starting on Friday along with the matches in the main round comprising two groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will enter semis.
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