Incheon: Qatar notched up their fifth straight victory in handball, thrashing Bahrain 29-28 to virtually book a spot in the semi-finals at the Asian Games yesterday.
Qatar led 13-11 at half-time in the tense game.
Qatar’s fears about Bahrain proving tough rivals were unfounded as Valero Rivera’s boys proved too good in the final analysis with Rafael Capote leading the charge with nine goals.
Capote was especially devastating in the second half as he killed off Bahrain’s challenge with goals at regular intervals.
Youssef Benali also excelled for the winners with six goals, while Eldar Memisevic had five.
The hero of Qatar’s match against Kuwait, Hamad Madadi, had a relatively sedate match with just two goals to his credit.
“Five matches in six days and a hundred percent win record. I don’t have many complaints,” said coach Rivera whose side will take on Chinese Taipei today in last match of quarter-final round robin league
For Bahrain Hassan Al Samahiji was the top scorer with five goals, while Mohamed Al Maqabi had four and Jaafar Abdulqader and Ebrahim Al Sayyad struck two each.
In beach volleyball, Qatar’s Abdulaziz Khallouf and Tamer Abdulrasoul defeated prevailed over Oman’s Abdulla Shereiki and Khodoum Housni 21-13, 21-18, while Tiago Santos and Santos Pereira fell to Indonesia’s Putra Santosa and F Fahriansyah 21-11, 19-21, 17-15.
Meanwhile, in Compound Men’s Team archery, Qatar were eliminated by India who won 233-218. In Compound Men’s Individual, Qatar’s Ahmad Al Abadi was beaten by the Philippines’ Paul Marton De La Cruz 141-138. In badminton, Indonesia’s Maulana Mustofa defeated Qatar’s Adil Al Saadi 21-3, 21-2 in the men’s round of 32. In fencing, Qatar’s women’s epee team were beaten 45-17 by South Korea, while the men’s squash team suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the hosts.
The tennis tournament saw Qatar’s Jabor Al Mutawa crashing out in the second round of the men’s singles with India’s Yuki Bhambri advancing 6-1, 6-0.
QOC
