The Peninsula
Qatar will meet the Netherlands today in their main round opener of the 2023 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, underway in Poland and Sweden.
Al Annabi qualified for the main round courtesy to their win over Algeria in the preliminary stage as they finished third in Group E. Qatar fell to Germany in their first match and also suffered a defeat against Serbia on Tuesday night.
Qatar have been drawn in Group C in the main event and will also face Norway, Germany, Serbia and Argentina in the round.
The top two finishers from the group will advance to the quarter-finals.
The winner of the championship, which runs through Jan. 29, will secure an automatic qualification berth for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This is Qatar’s ninth World Cup appearance after Portugal 2003, Tunisia 2005, Germany 2007, Spain 2013, Qatar 2015, France 2017, Germany and Denmark 2019 and Egypt 2021. Their best-ever achievement was the silver medal in Qatar 2015.