Asian Club League Handball Championship: Al Arabi defeat Al Noor in opener

Hyderabad: Al Arabi Sports Club of Qatar defeated Al Noor Club of Saudi Arabia 29-24 in the opening match of the Asian Club League Handball Championship at the Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad on Wednesday.

In the first half that was fought on even keel, the Qatar team took a single point lead at 14-13. They maintained the lead in the second half as well to record a victory with a margin of five points. Paulo, who scored six points for Al Arabi, was adjudged as best player of the match.

Earlier, the tournament was off to a colourful start in the presence of Handball Federation of India president Arshanapalli Jagan Mohan Rao, Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) chairman A Venkateshwar Reddy and Sandeep Kumar, in-charge VC and MD of SATS.

“This is the first step to make Hyderabad a handball hub. In future, the city will host many more international tournaments which will boost the game in the country, “said Jagan Mohan Rao. He also thanked the State and central sports authorities for their support. The representatives of the Asian Handball Federation, Indian Olympic Association treasurer Anandishwar Pandey and others took part in the event.