Al Wakrah players and officials celebrate after their Qatar Cup triumph yesterday. PIC: Amr Diab
Doha, Qatar: Al Wakrah yesterday outplayed Al Gharafa 26-21 in the final to clinch their maiden Qatar Cup handball tournament title at Al Duhail Sports Hall yesterday.
After a thrilling first half which they led 12-11, Al Wakrah produced a dominant performance in the second session to be the third time lucky after losing the finals of 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 editions.
Al Wakrah keeper Mohamed Obeidi played a significant role in team’s win making several good saves during the match.
It was third loss in the Qatar Cup finals for Al Gharafa after defeats in 2016-2017 and 2018-2019 seasons.
Qatar Olympic Committee Second Vice-President Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari crowned the champions and handed medals to both the teams.
“We are proud of this victory which is a huge morale boost for the club,” Al Wakrah coach Yamen Al Qafsi said after the win.
“It was a tough final as Al Gharafa are a big side. The players continued to play well both in defence and attack. They continued to fight throughout the match and gave their best until the last moment. I want to thank the entire squad for their hardwork,” he added.
It was a balanced first half after Al Gharafa’s Basel Mosa opened the scoring in the first minute. After the first quarter of an hour, the match was locked 7-7.
In 21st minute, Al Wakrah stretched their lead to 11-8 before Al Gharafa reduced the lead to 10-11 with Abdulrazag Ahmed scoring a fabulous goal in 25th minute.
Al Wakrah made full use of Mosa’s two-minute suspension after a foul against Marwan Sasi to go into interval with a lead.
They came back strongly in the second half and extended their lead to 25-20 with 10 minutes remaining in the final. Al Wakrah continued to score goals while blocking Al Gharafa’s attempts and sealed the victory through Omar Diab’s goal in the last minute in front of joyous supporters.
