KUWAIT, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- Kuwait failed on Saturday to qualify to the main round of the IHF World Handball Cup after suffering their third defeat in row the group stage against Qatar 22-25.
The Kuwaiti team did their best and they were neck-to-neck with Qatar, the 2024 Asian Champions. Despite a determined effort by Kuwaiti players, Qatari peers ended the first half with 11-8 lead and maintained their advance in the second half to seal the deal in the Asian derby 25-22.
Kuwait, which came back to the competition after a 16-year hiatus, will once again play in the Presidents' Cup. Qatar are going to the main round as the third-placed team for the second time in a row and are joining France and Austria in Varazdin.
Kuwait had previously lost its two matches against Austria and France with score of (26-37) and (19-43) respectively.
The tournament started on January 14 and will run until February 2 in Croatia, Denmark, and Norway. (end) hms.ibi