Sevilla: Qatar put on a brave display but went down fighting in their 22-29 loss against Russia at the 23rd IHF Men’s Handball 2013 Championship in Sevilla yesterday.
The result leaves Qatar in fifth place in Group B.
For Russia, who lost against a strong Denmark side, are in second place, having sealed four out of a possible 6 points in the competitions so far.
In the first half, Qatar used an open 5-1 defence that disrupted the quality of the Russian pivot.
The Europeans seemed dense in attack and couldn’t take the lead until the seventh minute of the match.
The defensive formation and the improvement in percentage of saved shots from the keeper Yafai Mohsin (six saves in 30 minutes) contained Russia’s Oleg Kuleshov’s seven, who helped his side reach 13-16 at the break. Qatar showed courage who were aiming to grab their first win of the competition.
With 10 minutes remaining, they were only four goals behind at 20-24.
But Russia stepped up their tempo and scored the goals to put the match beyond Qatar’s reach, to seal a 29-22 win.
Qatar can take courage from the defeat against one of the tournament favourites, who also put a strong performance after their loss against Macedonia.
Elsewhere, Belarus earned a crucial victory against Korea in the race for the fourth rank.
It was far from an easy victory, for the Belarusians, who were made to work for their 26-20 win.
Belarus coach said after his side’s Group C match: “We put a lot of tension into this match. Our wish to win this game was very big. after the match I was very satisfied with the discipline of my team and I am really happy, because it was a really trough match.”
His opposite number, Sung Sup Lee said: “Today (yesterday) wer showed the will to win. But we were surprised by the tough defence and the good goalkeeper of Belarus. In the second half, it was especially difficult for us to score.”
Meanwhile, Tunisia condemned Montenegro to their third straight loss in the competition, courtesy of a 27-25 win
The result leaves the African champions on four points, while Montenegro remain pointless in Group A.
In another clash to take place in Sevilla yesterday, Egpyt and Algeria drew in the All-African duel in their Group D clash.
THE PENINSULA
