Qatar to face Bahrain in Asian Men’s Handball Championship final
SUWON , January 28, 2018 - Qatar will start as strong favourites when they clash with Bahrain in their fourth successive final of the Asian Men's Handball Championship at the Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon, South Korea, on Sunday.
Qatar have already beaten Bahrain in this championship earlier and it would take the latter more than a miracle to stop the double defending champions from making it a hat-trick of titles.
This is the third final in a row between Qatar and Bahrain. On both occasions, the 2015 world silver medallists Qatar have looked unstoppable as they went on to bag the title.
This is the fourth time that any team has managed to feature in four or more successive finals. Earlier, South Korea, who claimed nine titles in 12 finals, did it twice and Kuwait dominated the continental event for four editions on trot.
From 1983 to 2000, South Korea played seven finals and won six of them. Then their second streak for the Koreans lasted four championships from 2006 to 2012 in which they emerged the winners thrice.
Kuwait's three titles came in 2002, 2004 and 2006 but they were denied the fourth title by South Korea.
Qatar are the fourth team to play figure in four straight title clashes since 2012 when they lost just by a goal to South Korea 22-23 in Jeddah.
With both defence and attack working at high standards, Qatar have outclassed all their rivals so far, starting with a gigantic 44-goal win over New Zeland in the Group League.
During the Main Round, Bahrain clashed with Qatar and the holders emerged the winners by 29-21. Their eight-goal win has been the lowest difference between Qatar and their opponents till now.
In seven matches so far, Qatar have struck a huge 257 goals, while conceding only 138. The goal margin of 119 goals is a clear indicator about the dominance Qatar have been enjoying at the Suwon championships.
Still Qatar can't afford to be complacent. A third title with a solid victory will serve as an icing on the cake for Valera Rivera's boys.
Strikers Frankis Marzo has been in great form, having fired 32 goals in six matches so far. He had skipped the UAE game. Also in good nick is Houssem Romane, Abdulrazzak Murad, Aniz Zouaoui, pivot Youssef Benali and Ahmad Madadi.
At the back, goalkeeper Danijel Saric has been like a wall. His heroics have frustrated the opponents at crucial times and lifted the team, besides fetching him two MVP awards.
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