Katowice, Poland, January 18 (QNA) – Qatar lost 32-30 to Netherlands on Thursday in both sides’ main competition opener in the 2023 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, currently underway in Poland and Sweden.
In the first half, Qatar achieved a 19/15 lead, but Valero Riveras men suffered a recession in the second half giving the Netherlands a 32/30 win.
Qatar will play their second main round game against Norway on Saturday before they take on Argentina on Monday.
Qatar advanced to this round after finishing third in Group E where they defeated Algeria 29/24 and suffered two losses to Germany and Serbia 31/27 and 34/24 respectively.
This is Qatar’s ninth World Cup appearance after Portugal 2003, Tunisia 2005, Germany 2007, Spain 2013, Qatar 2015, France 2017, Germany and Denmark 2019 and Egypt 2021. Their best-ever achievement was the silver medal in Qatar 2015.
The top two finishers will advance to the quarter-finals. The winner of the championship, which runs through Jan. 29, will secure an automatic qualification berth for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (QNA)
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