ASIA 2016: Bahrain and Qatar for the title!

The semi-finals of the 17th Asian Championship did not produce any surprise: Qatar and Bahrain will play the final match for the title (replay of 2014 final), while Saudi Arabia and Japan will compete for the bronze medal.

Despite strong effort in the first half, Saudi Arabia, without some key players, did not have sufficient power to resist Qatar. After solid first-half display of Saudi Arabia, Qatar locked the defense in the second half. Inspired by several brilliant saves of Goran Stojanovic, Qatar was conceded only 4 times in the second 30 minutes. Final result 22:13 (12:9) clearly indicates Qatar possesses more quality at the moment.

In the second semi-final match, host Bahrain had no problem with Japan, winning 29:23 (15:10). Bahrain got solid advantage over Ortega`s side after first 15 minutes and managed to keep it until the end. Japan had no chance for return. At the final seconds of the game, Bahrain goalkeeper Mohammed Hussain managed to score the last goal for his side, making thousands of fans in Khalifa Sports City absolutely jubilant.

IHF president Mr Hassan Mustafa arrived to Bahrain and watched both semifinal matches in Isa Town. It is clear top four teams from the Asian Championship have qualified for the 2017 World Championship. The final games will be played on January 28th in Khalifa Sports City hall.

Major controversies over Asian Championship

How many teams qualify for the World Championship?

Final round of a group stage on the 17th Asian Championship resolved all dilemmas: Qatar will face Saudi Arabia in the semi-final, while host Bahrain will play against Japan.

In the play-off from 5th to 8th place, Korea will play against United Arab Emirates, and Iran will face Oman. Lebanon and Syria will play for 9th place, while China is on the 11th place of the championship.

In the group A, Japan had an easy job against Syria, winning 24:15 (11:6). Qatar did not let Korea to produce any surprise, celebrating 38:23 (19:13) victory.

In the Group B, Lebanon woke up and won 30:28 (15:18) against China, securing 5th place in the group. In a close encounter which could go either way, Iran won 34:32 (15:15) against United Arab Emirates. In the derby of the round, the match which decided about first position, Bahrain won a hard-fought 25:24 (15:12) game over Saudi Arabia, saving the victory in the last seconds. In the aftermath, Saudi Arabia coach Nenad Kljaić raised concerns about the referee criteria via his Facebook profile, posting photos and counting no less than 18 mistakes in favor of Bahrain. Referees are a hot topic in the group B: couple of days before, after commenting some obvious mistakes of the referees on Bahrain-UAE game, United Arab Emirates received an official warning.

However, referees are not the biggest controversy on the Asian Championship. In the middle of the Championship, the morning before start of the 5th round, the letter from the IHF arrived, creating confusion and bringing dose of anxiety in number of teams. It is stated only four teams from Asia, including Qatar, will qualify for the 2017 World Championship. This interpretation is completely different than the preliminary one. Before the start of the Asian Championship, teams are informed Qatar has already qualified for the World Championship as vice-champion of the world and four more slots are available. Following recent update, it is completely unknown if holder of the 5th place will qualify for the World Cup. If the IHF decision described in the letter delivered on the half of the Championship is final, the play-off for 5th place becomes completely pointless. This change of regulations is widely considered as “shame” and “joke” by many representatives of Asian national federations.

ASIA 2016: Japan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to WCh 2017!

After the 4th round of 17th Asian Championship in Bahrain, all semifinalists are known: after Qatar, Japan secured the place from the group A, winning 29:24 (16:11) over Oman. The host Bahrain qualified from the group B, following impressive 27:16 (13:8) victory over Iran. Another semifinalist from the group B is Saudi Arabia, after dominant 34:20 (16:8) win against China.

Korea from the group A and United Arab Emirates from the group B theoretically could still find a slot in the semifinals. However their goal difference makes this mission impossible. UAE managed a narrow 27:23 (12:16) win against Lebanon, while Korea had an easy game against Syria – 38:20 (19:5).

All semifinalists secured ticket for the 2017 World Championship in France. Also, 5th selection will qualify to participate on the World Championship.

Matches of the final round will decide about the rankings in both groups.

ASIA 2016: Qatar secure semi-final spot

After 3rd round of Asian Championship in Bahrain, the situation in the group A is quite clear: Qatar holds first place in the group firmly, following 29:24 (15:12) win over well prepared Japanese team. Ortega’s players managed to surprise Qatar with quick and organized play. However, their effort was not strong enough to upset the top favorites.

In the another group A match, Oman celebrated important 31:24 (15:11) victory over Syria, securing place in top 4 teams in the group. Although Korea still has theoretical chances to qualify, most likely the match between Japan and Oman will decide which selection will go through the semi-final of the Championship.

Things are much more complicated in the group B: following the draw with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates were on the verge of a new major upset against the host Bahrain. Despite resilient and motivated play of the UAE, Bahrain team was concentrated at the end of the game, using constant power play and converting several controversial penalties into goals for final 28:26 (16:13) victory. Another matches in the group B did not bring any challenge for the favorites – Saudi Arabia demolished Lebanon 32:13 (16:4), while Iran showed quality against China, celebrating 36:18 (17:10) victory.

The picture about the semi-finalists from the group B will be drawn in the last two rounds: at the moment, Bahrain is close to the achievement if this objective, while Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran still hold the chance to secure the second slot in the fight for medals.

Syria in the group A, as well as Lebanon and China in the group B, are without any chances to qualify for the semi-finals.

Bahrain and Qatar Dominant, UAE Upset the Favorites

Second round of the 17th Asian Championship brought a new surprise: at the opening game of the group B, United Arab Emirates hampered chances of Saudi Arabia to reach the semi-finals, playing 17:17 (6:7). In the strong match with an outstanding goalkeeping and defensive display on both sides, UAE had chance to win, but Abdulla Albaloushi shot in the final seconds went over the bar.

Iran recovered from the starting defeat, easily overcoming Lebanon 31:26 (16:13). Bahrain showed superiority against Chinese side, creating easy win 41:18 (18:7). Bahraini 3-3 defence and quick offensive play completely blocked Chinese play, so the winner was known even in the early stage of the game.

Bahrain is leader of the group B with 4 points. UAE and Saudi Arabia follow with 3 points, Iran has 2, while China and Lebanon are still looking for the first points.

In the group A, Oman was close to surprise favorites South Korea. In a heart-breaking match, both sides had chances to count the victory. At the end, lady luck smiled to Korea, who managed to save the advantage in the final minutes and won 23:22 (11:12).

Qatar was dominant again, easily passing over Syria with 32:10 (18:6) win. Excellent defensive display was just enough to overcome weak Syrian team.

In the group A, Qatar is topping the table with 4 points, Јаpan and Korea are behind with 2, while Oman and Syria are on level 0 after first two rounds.

Asian Championship 2015: Japan beat Korea – Saudis surprise for Iran

The Asian Championship 2015 in Bahrain began on Friday with three matches in Manama. Highlight of the Day 1 was a Saudi Arabia victory over Iran 26:21 (12:10). Host nation, Bahrain beat Lebanon 41:18, while United Arab Emirates outplayed China 21:17.

Japan beat Korea 31:25 (14:10) in the derby match of Day 2. Japanese guys with the support of Ex-Veszprem coach Antonio Carlos Ortega, obviously, made quick improvement.

Qatar smashed Oman 37:19.