Qatar's goalkeeper Mohsen Mohammed Alyafeai attempts to stop a shot.
Doha: Qatar went down fighting to USA at the 11th IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championships, losing 1:2 (18–28, 20–12 and 2–8) in a gripping opening clash at the Pingtan International Beach Sports Base in Pingtan Island, China, yesterday.
Qatar, a two-time bronze medallist at the World Championships, were hoping to get off to a winning start this time in Group D.
The first half of the match saw an aggressive start from both sides. Qatar's attack was led by Amir Nowraddine Denguir and Hani Marwan Kakhi, right from the start.
Despite their efforts, USA's Alexander Browne, Jason Borchik and Dominic Cody managed to outscore Qatar, ending the first period with a score of 28:18 in favour of the USA.
However, Qatar intensified their attack and made a brilliant comeback in the second half.
Amir Nowraddine and Kakhi were instrumental in turning the tide, with both of them scoring crucial goals at regular intervals.
Their contribution and the brilliant goalkeeping by Mohsen Mohammed Alyafeai helped them win the second half with a score of 20:12 as the Asian champions forced the match to go into a shoot-out.
However, the shoot-out did not go as planned for Qatar. The USA managed to put their first points on the board, securing a 8:2 victory in the shootout, winning the match with an overall score of 2:1. Kakhi stood out as the star contributor for Qatar, scoring 18 goals, while Denguir also swelled their score with 10 goals.
For USA, Browne scored 10 goals, Borchik 12, and Cody 14 goals, making a notable impact on the game’s outcome.
Today, Qatar will meet Uruguay and Germany in their remaining Group D matches.
Meanwhile, in Group A, Hungary secured a 2-0 victory over Oman with scores of 22-12 and 33-16. In another Group clash, Denmark defeated Australia 2:0 (22–12, 33–16).
Group B saw a thrilling clash between Brazil and Spain. The tightly contested match which also ended in a gripping shootout, ended in a 2-1 (16-18, 19-18, 6-4) victory for Brazil. Tunisia edged out China in another nail-biting finish, with the North African side winning 2-1 with scores of 18-16, 22-24, and 7-6 in another tie-breaker.
In Group C, Croatia defeat Portugal in their opening match with a 2-0 win (16-12, 22-20), while Argentina beat Puerto Rico 2-0 with scores of 16-10 and 16-12.
Group D's opening match between Germany and Uruguay saw the European side winning with a 2-0 margin, with scores of 24–20 and 23–17.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the main round, cutting down the number of teams from 16 to 12. Following the main round, the top four teams from these groups will advance to the quarter-finals, leading to the semi-finals and final on June 23.
