Action from the  Al-Sadd vs Sydney Unversity Club match in the IHF Super Globe Handball tournament in Doha yesterday.

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Barcelona moved within two wins of achieving a hat-trick of Super Globe titles by defeating Egypt’s Al-Ahly 20-16 on the opening day of the tournament in Doha yesterday.
With yesterday’s win, the Spanish club set up a semi-final clash with Füchse Berlin, who defeated Tunisia’s Club Africain 27-24 in the other quarter-final.
In the last match of the day at Duhail Sports Complex, Sydney University Club stunned hosts and former champions Al Sadd 21-20 for their first win of the championship in four years and entered the semi-finals.
In the last quarter of a nerve-wrecking game, Sydney University Club’s Diego Llorent was on fire as he scored two goals in-a-row to give his side a two-goal advantage with just over 11 minutes remaining (16-18). The Australian side stayed in front until Mustafa al-Krad levelled the scores for the hosts in the 55th minute to make it 18-18, but Tomasz Szklarski soon put them back in the lead with a penalty goal as the clock ticked into the final five minutes (18-19).
Llorente scored a fast break with a minute and 30 seconds left, putting the Australian team ahead by two goals (19-21). Al Sadd lost the next attack and suddenly found themselves in trouble. And although Abdulla al-Ghamdi closed the gap to one inside the last 35 seconds, it was too late as Sydney held on to record the first-ever win for an Oceania team at the Super Globe.
“We are happy with our show today. It is our first win in the championship. We played a very good game. After so many losses in the championship, we were determined to win the game today and I am happy that we have registered our win against the hosts. We are hoping for a good semi-final tomorrow,” Llorente, who scored nine goals for his side, said.
The Australian club will take on debutant MKB-MVM Veszprem, who defeated Brazilian side Esporte Clube Taubate 27-24, in the second semi-final today.
Meanwhile, President of the International Handball Federation (IHF) Hassan Moustafa yesterday announced Qatar will continue hosting the Super Globe for the next four years.
Moustafa said he was very satisfied with what he saw during the 24th Men’s World Championship, which was held in Doha earlier this year.
“We had offers from Poland and Germany to hold the championship but we chose Qatar for four more years because of its ability to hold international events, especially after the great success of the world championship in January-February this year,” he said. Qatar is hosting the Super Globe’s since 2010, but this year’s it is being staged with a change in the playing system. Up until 2014, each of the eight teams had three group matches before the knock-out stage started.
Talking about the changes in the format of the Super Globe this year, he said: “Now the event is more compact with only three match days in a knockout format. We will assess the new system later and then decide whether we will return to the old group system or continue with the knockout format.”
Moustafa also congratulated His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani on assuming the chairmanship of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC).
President of the Qatar Handball Federation Ahmed Mohamed al-Shaabi said: “Super Globe is in Qatar for the next four years and I hope it will play a big role in the development of the game in the country and the region.”