Qatar's handball team dominate in first Rio 2016 appearance
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Handball team in action
Today's schedule
-- Table tennis athlete Li Ping will compete at 18:00 Doha time.
-- Team Qatar";s first ever Olympic judo athlete, Morad Zemouri, 23 (at 16:42 Doha time).
-- Qatar";s beach volleyball team will face Spain at 19:00
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Team Qatar";s handball athletes dominated their first ever Olympic match, defeating Croatia 30 – 23 in the Future Arena in Rio de Janeiro on 7th August.
The 2015 Handball World Championship silver-medallists maintained control throughout the match against their Croatian counterparts, proving that they are a force to be reckoned with. While the powerful left-back Rafael Capote scored the first goal, the team held the lead and controlled the field of play expertly.
Right-back Zarko Markovic scored an amazing 10 goals for Team Qatar thanks to critical assists by Basel Al-Rayes, and the team cruised to victory in a solid display of teamwork. The players have already made history as Rio 2016 marks the first time ever that a Qatar handball team has competed at the Olympic Games.
In swimming, one of the youngest members of Team Qatar, 17-year-old Noah Al-Khulaifi came in 7th in the 100m backstroke heats in his first ever Olympic appearance. Speaking from Rio, Al-Khulaifi said:
'It is very special to be here and part of this. Being at the Athletes Village hasn";t blown my mind but it";s filled with superstars I didn";t really expect to see such legends all walking around like normal people. From NBA stars who seem about 7ft tall to Michael Phelps who I saw in the pool, which for me is just like ‘wow";.”
Meanwhile, table tennis athlete Li Ping decimated his Hungarian opponent Adam Pattantyus winning 4-0 in the second round of competition in the massive 23,000 square meter Riocentro Pavilion 3. Ping will compete again on Monday against Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany at 18:00 Doha time.
Also competing on the 8th August is Team Qatar";s first ever Olympic judo athlete, Morad Zemouri, 23, who will face Dirk Van Tichelt from Belgium at 16:42 Doha time. Qatar";s beach volleyball team will face Spain at 19:00 in the volleyball arena on the pristine Copacabana beach after narrowly losing in their first match against the United States.
The Peninsula