Oman colts start beach handball campaign today
The Oman U-17 beach handball team is all set to make their official debut at the 2025 IHF Men's Junior Beach Handball World Championship on Wednesday as they will take on Spain and Puerto Rico in back-to-back Group A clashes in Hammamet, Tunisia. The draw clubbed Oman into a competitive group featured Iran, Spain, and Puerto Rico. The group was reduced to three teams following Iran's official withdrawal due to the current situation there. With the top three teams in the group advancing automatically to the next round, Oman's focus now shifts to securing a favorable seeding heading into the second phase of the tournament.
Oman team, coached by Jaber al Balushi, will play against Spain, a title contender and gold medalist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, in a strong opener and it will be followed by a fixture against tournament newcomers Puerto Rico later in the same day. Oman head coach Jaber al Balushi affirmed that the team in best shape to begin their campaign in the World assignment. 'We are well-prepared to face the world's best in the opening game. Our recent friendly matches, especially the win against Tunisia, gave us confidence and helped us fine-tune our strategy beside the morale are very high of the players. We aim to put on a strong performance and secure momentum for the next round.' He said
Oman played four warm-up matches in Tunisia as part of their build-up for the 2025 IHF Men's Junior Beach Handball World Championship. In the first preparatory match, the suffered to a 2-0 defeat against Senegal and another loss against Cook Islands by 2-0 and then narrowly defeated by Hungary (0-2). In the concluding match they raised their morale by a 2-1 victory over the hosts Tunisia. The final match, played at the main championship venue, allowed Oman to test their readiness under real competition conditions. Oman head coach Jaber al Balushi, Team Director Said al Hosni and administrative official Talib Afandi took part in the technical meeting held by the IHF where Oman's official kit, match schedule, and the amended group format following Iran's withdrawal were confirmed. The 2025 edition of the IHF Junior Beach Handball World Championship will feature 32 teams, marking the largest and most competitive edition to date. Oman's participation was made possible following a nomination from the Asian Handball Federation (AHF), after the team secured fourth place in the Asian Junior Beach Handball Championship in Thailand earlier this year and Qatar's withdraw from the event.
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