Qatar took silver medal in 11th World Games, Birmingham 2022
15 July 2022
Qatar won a silver medal after losing to Croatia in the final by 1–2 (17–14; 16–20; SO. 6–9) in the men’s beach handball competition of the 11th World Games. The competition took place at the Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, United States of America, from July 11th to July 15th, 2022.
Qatar is the only Asian country to qualify for the competition and was drawn in Group A along with Croatia and New Zealand. The results of Qatar in the preliminary group are as follows:
- Qatar VS New Zealand 2–0
- Qatar VS Croatia 0–2
Qatar advanced to the main round and was seeded in Group I along with Croatia, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. The results of Qatar in the main round are as follows:
- Qatar VS Argentina 2–0
- Qatar VS Puerto Rico 2–0
In the semi-final, Qatar defeated Brazil by 2–1 (18–21; 22–10; SO. 8–6). The top scorers in the match for Qatar were Mohamed Hassan and Amir Denguir, who scored 12 points each. Goalkeeper Mohsen Al-Yafeai made 33% saves during the match.
Two players from the Qatar team were selected in the Men’s All-Star Team of the competition by the IHF Beach Handball Working Group.
- Most Valuable Player (MVP): Mohamed Hassan, Qatar
- Best goalkeeper: Dominik Markovic, Croatia
- Best left wing: Renan Pinheiro Carvalho, Brazil
- Best right wing: Lucian Bura, Croatia
- Best specialist: Mohamed Hassan, Qatar
- Best pivot: Andrew Donlin, USA
- Best defender: Sid Kenaoui, Qatar
- Top scorer: Nahuel Baptista, Argentina – 111 points
This is the second medal for Qatar at the men’s beach handball competition of the World Games, as they won bronze in the previous edition held at Wrocław, Poland in 2017.
The 11th IWGA World Games started on July 7, 2022, with the opening ceremony taking place at the Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham, where the games were officially declared open by the Mayor of Birmingham, Randall Woodfin. The closing ceremony is scheduled to take place on July 17, 2022.
Final Rankings:
- Croatia
- Qatar
- Brazil
- United States of America (Host)
- Argentina
- Puerto Rico
- New Zealand
Photo Courtesy: Qatar Handball Association
