Officials with the mascot Fahed.
Doha: The countdown for the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship commenced on Tuesday and the official mascot of the event was presented in a milestone event.
The mascot of the championship was released at the Handball Fan Zone in Corniche, by H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Organising Committee of Qatar 2015. The mascot is not a cartoon character, but a six-year-old boy, named Fahed.
Flyboarders above the sea, drummers on earth and dozen s of orange balloons in the sky added excitement, vibration and colour to the morning session, while the national handball team of Qatar, the recently crowned Asian Champions, were congratulated for their glorious achievement by Sheikh Joaan, as well as by the President of the International Handball Federation (IHF) Dr Hassan Moustafa, the Vice-President of the Qatar 2015 Organising Committee Ahmed Mohammed Al Shaabi and the Director General of Qatar 2015, Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari.
The festivities climaxed in the evening session with the official kick off of the countdown in a dazzling event attended by the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The ceremony commenced with lights, drums and lasers and the unveiling of a Qatar 2015 stele. Soon after a flyboarder emerged from the Doha bay waters carrying the official ball of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship and handed it over to the mascot (figure), who passed it to young Fahed. Like a penultimate torchbearer, Fahed delivered it to the prime minister and the president of IHF.The Peninsula
