Oman handball, soccer teams settle for silver
The two silver medals helped Oman contingent complete their engagements with a total of four medals, which included Barkat’s 60m gold and relay squad’s 4x60m silver
MUSCAT: Oman handball and soccer teams battled valiantly in the finals of their respective competitions but were forced to settle for silver medals in the fifth Asian Beach Games in Danang, Vietnam on Sunday. The two silver medals helped Oman contingent complete their engagements with a total of four medals, which included Barkat Al Harthi’s 60m gold and relay squad’s 4x60m silver.
In a closely-contested beach soccer final, Talib Hilal-coached Sultanate’s soccer team came up against an inspired Japan team, who just about managed to thwart Omani attacks for 4-3 extra-time victory to seal the gold medal.
Oman came back from a 2-1 first session deficit to equalise the score 2-2 in the second session. In the ensuing extra-time, Japan took 4-2 lead.
Though Oman fought bravely to reduce the margin, they could not stop Japan from winning the gold with a 4-3 victory.
The result ended Oman’s hopes of adding to the gold medal they won in the inaugural edition of the Games organised in Bali, Indonesia back in 2008.
Sunday’s medal is Oman’s second beach soccer silver in the history of the Games. Their first silver medal came in the second edition hosted by the Sultanate in 2010.
Though Talib’s boys were denied in the final, they had a great tournament as they bounced back from a shootout loss to Lebanon in their opening match of the Group B. Then they went on to defeat Qatar in a group game before accounting for Thailand and Afghanistan in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. Lebanon won the bronze medal with a 9-5 victory over Afghanistan.
In the handball competition, Hamood Al Hasani-coached Oman entered the final as an unbeaten team but their winning run came to an end at the hands of regional rivals Qatar, who overcame the Sultanate for a shootout victory.
The Omanis fought hard from the beginning but Qatar always stayed ahead winning the first session at 23-22. Oman rallied back to level the match with a 24-22 win in the second session. But Qatar kept their cool in the shootout to win by a 6-2 margin and with that the gold medal. Meanwhile, the organising committee honoured Oman Handball Association’s General Secretary Isa Al Jabri along with other Asian officials for their contribution to the beach handball.
Al Jabri, who is also a member of Technical Committee of the Asian handball body, has been part of several Asian competitions, including three Asian Beach Games.