Qatar ready for Slovenia test

After their stunning victory against European champions Germany, Qatar will take on Slovenia in the quarter-finals of the World Handball Championship in Paris today, targeting a spot in the semi-finals.
When the Al Anabi arrived in France, coach Valeiro Riveira said reaching the quarter-finals was his team’s main target but the 2015 edition’s silver medallists must have raised expectations after their remarkable performance against the rampant Germans.
The European champions entered the Eighth Final against Qatar as overwhelming favourites, having won all their five group matches. The Al Anabi, on the other reached the knock-out stage with just two victories under their belt.
However, the Asian giants excelled in the all-important game and stunned their European counterparts with an outstanding performance in the final minutes of the game for a 21-20 win.
Qatar's Cuban born winger Rafael Capote was the hero scoring nine goals in the low-scoring match. Coach Riveira will be expecting a similar show by his ranks against Slovenia, who relatively are not as tough as the Germans.
However, Slovenia who defeated Russia 32-26 in the last 16 stage had an impressive run in the 24-team event so far. Apart from their win in Eighth Finals, they bagged three wins and a loss besides a tied game.         
In other quarter-finals line-up, defending champions France will take on continental rivals Sweden while Norway will meet Hungary. The other last 8 match will be played between Spain and Croatia.      
While Germans were sent packing by Qatar, Hungary handed a shock defeat to Olympic champions Denmark to knock them out of the title race.     
The semi-finals of the competition will be played on January 26 and 27 with the final scheduled on January 29.

Qatar deserves respect, says coach Riveira

Two years ago, Qatar shocked the global handball fraternity with their surprise entry into the final of the World Handball Championship on home courts.

The Gulf state drew flak for roping in foreign players. Two years on, Qatar remodelled its squad and reduced the number of foreign players significantly and the ream’s performance remains similar.
On Sunday, Qatar stunned one of the most strong sides of the competition, beating Germany 21-20 in the last 16 stage to reach the quarterfinals.
Qatar coach Valeiro Riveira said his team has been proving its mettle and their performance deserve praise.        
"Qatar deserves respect," said the Qatar coach.
"Only three teams, of which Qatar is one, have qualified for the quarter-finals of the last three international tournaments," he said.
"We have worked hard to achieve respect," added Rivera who has been in charge of the Qatar team since 2013.