Qatar handball team completes hat-trick of titles at Hangzhou Asian Games
Qatar continued their dream run at the Asian Games by sealing their third back-to-back title in Hangzhou, China, on Thursday. They defeated Bahrain 32-25 to clinch the gold medal.
The five-time Asian champions, who have been on a roll in recent years, proved once again they were unbeatable on the continental stage. They had won gold medals at the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
Though Qatar did exceptionally well in the second half, they did not have it easy in the beginning. Qatari players could not find their feet against the determined Bahrainis in the early stages. Bahrain went ahead 5-2 and Qatar found the going tough.
But as the game progressed, Qatari players became more confident. However, they simply could not take the lead. The two teams fought a close battle and Qatar went into the break two goals behind (12-14).
ألف مبروك لأبطال الأدعم لكرة اليد الفوز بالذهبوالمركز الأول في نهائي اللعبة بدورة الألعاب الآسيوية - هانغتشو 2022 على حساب منتخب البحرين الشقيق ..
— جوعان بن حمد (@JoaanBinHamad) October 5, 2023
أنجزتوا المهمة ووصلتوا القمة .. @Qatarhandball @qatar_olympic pic.twitter.com/2ctAX1H6qG
Qatar slowly closed the gap with their rivals and attained parity (17-17) in the 35th minute. A minute later, Abdelrahman Abdalla put the team ahead (18-17).
The lead seemed to give Qatari players some new-found confidence and they went on a four-goal rampage (21-17).
Rafael Capote (eight goals) was in fine form and he was Qatar’s best player on the day. His incisive runs down the left flank put incessant pressure on the Bahraini defenders. Allaeddine Berrached (five), Amine Guehis (four), Abdulrazzaq Murad (four), Frankis Marzo (three) and Moustafa Heiba (three) were all on target for Qatar.
ذهبية للأدعــــم
— Team Qatar (@qatar_olympic) October 5, 2023
أبطال الأدعم لكرة اليد يحققون ذهبية أسياد هانغتشو.
كفو يارجال .. كفو يالأدعم @Qatarhandball
A New Gold Medal
Team Qatar win Handball Gold Medal at Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.#كلنا_الأدعم #WeAreTeamQatar pic.twitter.com/vN5p57lmrm
With three-quarters of the game gone, Qatari players managed to keep their four-goal advantage intact (24-20).
They then built on the lead and were ahead by six goals (28-22) by the 50-minute mark.
The two teams kept scoring consistently, but the gap did not seem to close and Qatar finally earned bragging rights for another four years.
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