Qatar's victorious coach Valero Rivera greeted upon arrival at Hamad International Airport by Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee.
Doha: Qatar's Asian handball Championship winning coach Valero Rivera has said that his team was 'confident' of winning the continental tight right from the start of the championship in Kuwait.
He said Qatar deserved the title because they worked hard for it.
“It was a difficult tournament but we were confident from the start. Our victory didn’t come as a fluke, we worked hard for it. The matches were tough, especially the semi-final against Bahrain, but thanks to our preparations we succeeded,” the Spaniard said.
Team manager Yusuf Al Hail also credited the team’s success to hard work and perseverance. “I congratulate everyone on this achievement,” he said.
The victorious handball players arrived to a rapturous welcome in Doha on Tuesday. Officials of various sports bodies in Qatar were in attendance at the Hamad International Airport to receive the team.
A day earlier, Qatar defeated South Korea 33-21 to win the regional title for the fourth consecutive time.
The win proved Qatar's dominance in the region having earlier won in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
South Korea are the record winners of the continental event, having won it nine times, but their last success was in 2012.
It is the Qataris who have established themselves as the dominant Asian force since then, besides winning the Asian title thrice and reaching the World Championship final on home soil in 2015.
Besides the finalists, the other two losing semi-finalists at the Kuwait championship also qualified for the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship to be held in Egypt.
