Oman Stun Croatia in Beach Handball
The Oman U-17 beach handball team delivered one of the most remarkable performances at the underway 2025 IHF Men's Junior Beach Handball World Championship in Hammamet, Tunisia on Thursday night following their victory over title holders Croatia in a dramatic 2-1 triumph during the main round competitions of the global event. The win marks a historic milestone for Oman boys in their debut appearance at the World Championship and placed them in strong contention for a quarterfinal berth. After dropping the first set by 22-12, Oman junior stars stormed back to take the lead in the second set by 22-20 before they sealed the victory in the penalty shootout by 9-6 thanks to two crucial saves by Oman's goalies Majid al Ghilani and Louay al Sulaimani.
Oman head coach Jaber Yaqub al Balushi praised the players' resilience and efforts throughout the match. ' Despite the delay and losing in the opening set, our boys delivered an incredible discipline and mental strength in the second half. The players followed the tactical instructions perfectly and the goalkeepers were outstanding in the shootout. This win will give us tremendous motivation for the remaining matches in the round,' He said.
The Oman Handball Association (OHA) chairman Moosa bin Khamis al Balushi thanked the players for their exceeding performance. OHA chief continued his close follow up to the team from Muscat through phone calls and extended his congratulations to the squad for their achievement. He requested from the players to maintain the same level of focus as they pursue a spot in the tournament's final eight.
The opponent Croatia players started strongly in the match as they managed to earn the opening set by 22-12. Then, Oman regrouped with a composed and tactical second-half performance by head coach Jaber al Balushi who made few critical adjustments and urging the players to focus on positioning, composure and capitalising on Croatian errors.
Oman players began the second half with better focus as they took the control and were leading by 6-4 through sharp attacks from Khattab al Hosni and Imad al Ghilani. Oman maintained the edge despite Croatia's relentless pressure eventually tying the score at 20-20 in the final minute. In the dying seconds, Coach Jaber called a strategic timeout as Mohammed al Hosni responded with a clutch point to seal the half and force a shootout.
Oman converted all five of their penalty shots with composure while the defence stood tall. The turning point came when Oman's goalkeepers al Ghilani and al Sulaimani each saved Croatian attempt and ensured a famous win for Oman's junior stars.
The 2025 championship featured from 32 teams in its largest edition ever with Oman having qualified after finishing fourth at the Asian Junior Beach Handball Championship in Thailand earlier this year.
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