School students playing handball during an interschool match at the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) in Doha in this file picture.
Doha: Doha will host the 2018 Handball World Schools Championships from February 22 to 28, with participation from 29 Arab and European countries.
The International School Sport Federation (ISF) has approved the organization of the tournament, which will be held for the first time in Doha, to take advantage of Qatar’s great potential for organizing such tournaments, following the great success achieved when Qatar organized the World Tennis School Championship two years ago.
An organizing committee delegation on Tuesday toured the facilities where the Championships will be played in order to inspect the latest preparations and ensure that all the ISF requirements are met after another visit by the ISF delegation to inspect the readiness of the facilities of the tournament.
The Boys competition will be held at Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Hall at Al Sadd Club while women’s competitions will be held at the women’s gym in Aspire.
The organizing committee delegation included Abdulrahman Al Muftah, Executive Director of the School Sports Association, Dr Saleh Salem, technical expert of the School Sports Association, and Ibrahim Al-Shahoud, representing the Technical Committee of the Championship and the Handball Federation.
Executive Director of the School Sports Association Abdulrahman Al Muftah said that the organizing committee is working to ensure a high level of readiness before the launch of this event, which is going to held for the first time in Qatar, adding that the confidence given by the ISF encouraged the committee to ensure a successful organization of the event and to highlight Qatar’s capabilities in organizing such large tournaments.
Dr Salah Salem, technical expert of the School Sports Association, said that much have been done one month before the start. The level of readiness at the two halls in Al Sadd club and Aspire makes us confident that the tournament will run according to the schedule set in light of the great participation by many countries, he added.
A draw ceremony of the Handball World Schools Championships held in Doha places Qatar in Group A in the boys event along Denmark, Austria, Poland and Morocco.
Turkey, Brazil, Greece, India and Belgium are in Group C. France is placed with Croatia, Serbia, Iran and Bulgaria in Group B while Germany, Czech Republic, Romania and Georgia are in Group D.
Denmark, France, Croatia, Belgium and Georgia are placed in Group D of the girls’ tournament. Group A has Turkey, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria while Group B consists of Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Czech Republic and India. Slovenia, Brazil, Sweden and Greece complete Group C.
