Muscat: The Oman national youth handball team will conclude its external training camp in Cairo on Friday, after three friendly matches against Egyptian teams. The team then will head to Jordan to participate in the 18th Asian Youth Handball Championship, which will be held from July 14 to 25. Four teams from the Asian championship will qualify for the World Cup, which will be hosted by Poland in 2025.
The team gained many benefits from its experiences in Egypt, where the technical staff, led by national coach Yahya al Mashari and his assistant Hassan al Mamari, aimed to give all team members experience and helped them to play in high-profile friendly matches to gain more exposure and improve performance by addressing mistakes. The gains included improving understanding between the players and developing offensive and defensive plans, in addition to strengthening physical fitness and endurance. The friendly matches were an opportunity to assess the players' performance under pressure conditions and work on improving aspects of team and individual play.
The team aspires to achieve outstanding results and reach advanced positions in the championship. The team will begin its journey in the championship by facing India on July 14, and then will face the host Jordan on July 15. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the main round of the championship. Thirteen teams are participating in the Asian Championship, distributed into 4 groups. The championship will in a single round-robin system in the first stage, after which two teams from each group will qualify for the second stage.
Mohammed al Alawi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Oman Handball Association, and head of the mission of the national youth indoor handball team participating in the Asian Championship in Jordan, said the team is fully prepared to participate in the championship after the friendly matches in Egypt.
Al Alawi added, "The goal of the camp was for the team to gain more experience and exposure to other teams, to get used to the atmosphere of the matches, and to improve the technical and physical levels of the players. He explained that the aspirations in the championship are to achieve good results, especially since the team includes good elements that are the infrastructure of the national teams and are capable of achieving outstanding results in the future."
Al Alawi added that the technical staff worked to correct the mistakes that appeared during the friendly matches, and focused on strengthening the players' strengths, stressing that the team enters the championship with high confidence and high morale. He explained that the friendly matches in Egypt were an opportunity to analyze the players' performance under pressure and provide individual advice to improve performance.
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