ID :
670176
Thu, 10/26/2023 - 21:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/670176
The shortlink copeid
QHF President to QNA: Our Goal is to Qualify to Paris Olympic Games 2024
Doha, October 26 (QNA) - President of the Qatar Handball Federation (QHF) Ahmed Al Shaabi stressed that winning the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games, which concluded on Oct. 8 in China, is a prominent, historic, and unprecedented achievement for Qatari handball as team Qatar became the first team in the history of the ASIAAD to win the gold medal in three consecutive tournaments, considering that achievement as a great incentive to provide the best possible level during the Asian handball qualifiers for the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Shaabi said that winning the gold medal at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games was a great motivation for team Qatar, a few days before the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. This was reflected positively on the performance during the group stage of the qualifiers, as the team achieved victory in the five matches that they played and qualified. Team Qatar advanced to the semi-finals as top of group A with full mark, and QHF hopes that the team will be able to continue the victories and book a qualification card for the handball competition in the next Olympic Games that will be held in Paris, France, next summer.
He added that team Qatar will play the semi-final match against the Bahrain and he considers that match as the most important at the present time for Qatari handball, as the team will face an experienced team that has players of a very high level and had also participated in the last Olympic Games, having won the qualification card in the previous qualifiers. However, in the current qualifiers, the situation will be different because team Qatar are fully prepared to book the qualification card for the Paris 2024 Olympics, regardless of the difficulties facing them, including injuries, as the continuous pressure on the players due to the momentum of the tournaments and the pressure of the matches has caused many players to get injured, but QHF has great confidence in the elements ready to achieve the desired goal, which is first place in the Olympic qualifiers.
Regarding planning for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the aspired goal, Al Shaabi said that QHF will not get ahead of events, as they have to think first about booking the qualification card, and then they will prepare the team in the best possible way, especially since the team achieved 8th place in the Olympic Games that were held in Rio 2014 in Brazil, and they achieved victory against large teams, and therefore our ambition in the next Olympics will be greater, and we promise to prepare a good team capable of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Regarding preparation plan for the next Asian championship in Bahrain, which qualifies for the 2025 World Championship, Al Shaabi pointed to a big challenge for the QHF and the technical staff because of the great pressure as a result of successive matches and tournaments at a time when they are required to make new achievements. In the upcoming Asian championship, our goal is to win the title for the sixth time in a row, an unprecedented achievement, and to qualify for the next World Championship. This prompts us to arrange all matters related to our local competitions as well as foreign club tournaments, in a way that contributes to prepare the team in the best possible way, he said.
On the QHF's achievements and factors contributing to the dominance of Qatari handball in the Asian continent, he told QNA that the main factor is the great support from the wise leadership and the existing cooperation with the clubs, coupled with hard work, diligence and continuous pursuit of success to honor Qatar and Qatari sports, pointing that the Qatari handball team had won the Asian championship 5 times in a row and won the Asiad gold 3 times in a row, in addition to world runner-up and other achievements that no other team has achieved. Over the course of 11 years, the team has not lost any tournament or match whether friendly or official at the level of the Asian continent, except for one match against Bahrain in the Asian qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he noted, adding that all these achievements necessitate continuing support and greater support to maintain their continuity.
Al Shaabi continued by saying that the QHF enjoys a very strong relationship whether at the international, Asian or Gulf levels, and it has members in those federations to exchange experiences. It also has technical staff at the highest level, and the first team is led by Spanish coach Valero Rivera, who is considered one of the best coaches at the world level.
Regarding the Qatari beach handball team, he said the federation has a strong team but unfortunately beach handball is not included in the Olympics games. "If it were an Olympic game, we would have been able to win a medal in the Olympics, and we hope that it will be included under the umbrella of the Olympic Games in the coming sessions."
With regard to the future of the national team's technical staff led by Spanish coach Valero Rivera, he said the coach continues to lead the Qatari team in light of the great achievements that have been achieved. He is also one of the best coaches in the world. He has big offers from different clubs and teams, but he is committed to continuing to lead the Qatari team, he noted. (QNA)
