Faisal bin Khalid Al Otaibi, Executive Director of the 27th Asian Men’s Handball Champions League, revealed during a press conference on the sidelines of the tournament the preparations of the organizing committee for the final match, as he stressed that the organizing committee is ready for the final match and is keen to bring out the tournament in the best possible way. He said, “There will be a simple closing ceremony, and after the end of the final match, a coronation ceremony will be held that befits the Asian champion. There will also be many surprises for the benefit of the fans who will attend the final match in the Al Duhail Sports Hall, where the organizing committee has allocated financial prizes amounting to 300 thousand riyals in addition to Other gifts. We ask the fans to come early to avoid traffic congestion and facilitate the task of the security personnel.
Al-Otaibi then touched on the organizational factor of the tournament hosted by Al Rayyan Club, stressing that the tournament achieved great success at all levels, becoming, according to the testimony of the representatives of the AFC, the best ever in the history of Asian tournaments.
Faisal Al-Otaibi thanked all members of the organizing committee headed by His Excellency Sheikh Al-Qaqa bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Al Rayyan Club, who was keen to follow up on everything big and small in order to provide all the facilities to organize a distinguished edition worthy of Qatar’s leading position in terms of organizing and hosting major sporting events in the world. Without his follow-up, we would not have achieved this success with the highest organizational standards. He added: I believe that the language of numbers confirms that the current tournament will not be repeated in the history of Asia, whether at the organizational, public or technical level as well.
Al-Otaibi pointed out that the large crowd attendance exceeded expectations, and is considered the largest in the history of the Asian Championship, as the number of fans who attended the first round matches reached 27,881, while more than 34,000 spectators attended until the quarter-finals, provided that the rest of the statistics related to the semi-finals will be presented. And the final after the tournament ends.
Al-Otaibi pointed out that Al-Rayyan Club seeks to organize the tournament again in the future due to the great success witnessed by the current edition, and said: “We hope that the current edition will not be the last, as we look forward to hosting the event again during the next three editions, and we consider this an additional gain for Qatari handball and for Al-Rayyan Club, and we In consultations with the Qatar Handball Federation and the Ministry of Sports and Youth, because we consider ourselves an integral part of the Qatari handball system.
He also thanked the Ministry of Sports and Youth, praising the fruitful cooperation with the Qatar Handball Federation, headed by Mr. Ahmed Al-Shaabi, who provided all the facilities to bring the event to the best light, stressing that communication and joint work are still ongoing with the aim of preserving the gains achieved and striving towards greater success. At the same time, he praised the support provided by the sponsoring companies, which contributed to highlighting the tournament in this distinctive way.
Al Rayyan’s victory over Bahraini youth
Al Rayyan achieved a deserved victory over Al Shabab Al Bahraini with a score of 39/27 in the match that brought them together yesterday in the matches to determine the positions from fifth to eighth. It is noteworthy that the two teams met in the group stage and ended in a 29/29 draw. Al-Rayyan was led in yesterday’s match by assistant coach Mohamed Walid Al-Ghazal, the former team player, and he was able to achieve victory to face Al-Kuwait of Kuwait tomorrow for fifth and sixth place in the overall standings of the tournament.
Dimitris: We achieved what was important and what remains most important
The Greek coach of the Saudi Gulf, Dimitris Dimitroulas, congratulated his players for the manly and strong performance they presented during the match. He also congratulated the victory for the large fans who attended the match and encouraged the team. He said during the press conference: First of all, I would like to congratulate the players on the heroic performance. I also congratulate this victory for the Gulf fans who were… It played a major role in winning and qualifying for the final match. We achieved what was important and the most important still lies ahead of us.
Al Khaleej and Sharjah qualified for the final
Al-Khaleej, Saudi Arabia, and Sharjah, UAE, qualified for the final of the Asian Handball Championship, after defeating Al-Duhail and Kazma of Kuwait, with scores of 23/21 and 28/27, respectively, while Al-Duhail and Kazma of Kuwait, playing for third and fourth places. The first half ended with Al-Duhail leading by a score of 14-13. In the second half, Al-Khaleej was able to achieve victory by a score of 23-21.