A Qatari player prepares to score against Iran during the semi-final of the AHF Asian Beach Handball Championships in Weihai, China, yesterday.
Qatar beat Iran 2-0 (20-14, 16-10) to reach their fifth consecutive final of the AHF Asian Beach Handball Championships yesterday.
In the Chinese city of Weihai in Shangdong Province, the four-time champions, Qatar will meet their traditional rivals Oman for the fifth time in the championships’ 15-year history after their West Asian counterparts won their semi-final match against Vietnam 2-0 (13-12, 18-16) yesterday.
Qatar won title in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 to become the most successful team in the tournament’s history and interestingly, Oman were the runners-up in all four of those finals.
On their way to the semi-finals, Qatar convincingly beat Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Afghanistan, Philippines and Indonesia, all in straight sets to become the only unbeaten team in the 12-nation tournament.
While the finalists gear up for tomorrow’s title showdown, Iran will meet Vietnam in the third place decider.
Rest of the teams will compete for play-off spots today.
The championship in China serves as a qualifier for both the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games in Qatar and the 2020 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships to be held in Italy.
Qatar and Oman have already booked their places in the IHF event.
