{"id":7891,"date":"2026-04-21T08:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/?p=7891"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:02:29","slug":"athletics-team-arrives-beach-soccer-prepares-for-palestine-match-oman-beach-handball-opens-against-mongolia-and-qatar-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/?p=7891","title":{"rendered":"Athletics Team Arrives; Beach Soccer Prepares for Palestine match; Oman Beach Handball Opens Against Mongolia and Qatar Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Athletics Team Arrives; Beach Soccer Prepares for Palestine match; Oman Beach Handball Opens Against Mongolia and Qatar Today<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Muscat:<\/p>\n

The Oman national beach handball team begins the tournament today, Tuesday, at the 6th Asian Beach Games \u2013 Sanya 2026, hosted in Sanya, China from April 22 to 30, with a match against Mongolia at 1:00 PM (Muscat time), followed by a second match against Qatar at 4:00 PM on the same day.<\/p>\n

The team prepared for today\u2019s matches through friendly matches against participating Asian teams, in addition to intensive training sessions. Oman will continue its group-stage matches against Thailand on Thursday at 2:00 PM, Maldives on Friday at 9:00 AM, Bangladesh on Sunday at 8:00 AM, and Jordan later the same day at 3:00 PM. The preliminary round concludes on Monday with a match against Pakistan at 2:00 PM.<\/p>\n

The beach handball team is coached by Hamoud bin Salem Al-Hassani, assisted by Jaber bin Yaqoub Al-Balushi, with Saeed bin Ali Al-Hosni as team manager, Talib bin Afandi Al-Balushi as administrator, and Hossam El-Din Adly as physiotherapist. The squad includes Yasser Al-Harthi, Mahdi Al-Sulaimani, Hudhaifa Al-Siyabi, Bashar Al-Hinai, Saeed Al-Hassani, Ali Al-Jamii, Muhannad Al-Zarafi, Abdulhakim Al-Siyabi, Asaad Al-Hassani, and Saeed Al-Hassani.<\/p>\n

Head Coach Remarks \u2013 Hamoud Al-Hassani<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hamoud Al-Hassani stated that the final preparation phase followed a comprehensive program focusing on both physical and technical aspects. Preparations were carried out in two main phases over approximately two weeks, followed by an intensive domestic training camp.<\/p>\n

He explained that training sessions were designed to avoid repetition in order to maintain players\u2019 readiness and focus. Morning sessions were dedicated to physical conditioning, while evening sessions focused on technical and tactical aspects specific to beach handball.<\/p>\n

He added that the final three-day camp played an important role in enhancing physical readiness, particularly for players who needed to improve their fitness levels. He noted a clear improvement in the overall condition of the squad, reflecting the success of the preparation program.<\/p>\n

He described Oman\u2019s group as highly competitive, noting that only two teams qualify from each group, which increases the importance of every match. He added that beach handball is a unique sport where matches are often decided by fine margins, especially as each set lasts only ten minutes.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that the group includes strong teams such as Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan, and Thailand, making the competition wide open. However, he emphasized that differences between teams are limited, with results often determined by focus and mental readiness.<\/p>\n

He noted that the team will rely on the players\u2019 experience in such tournaments, adding that tactical differences are generally limited in beach handball due to the standardized style of play.<\/p>\n

He stated that Oman\u2019s ambition is to compete for top positions, aiming to finish among the top three, while maintaining realistic expectations given the strength of the competition and challenges during preparation, including the absence of the first-choice goalkeeper due to work commitments.<\/p>\n

He concluded by emphasizing that focus, discipline, and psychological readiness will be key to achieving positive results.<\/p>\n

Beach Soccer Training Camp<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Oman national beach soccer team continues its preparations for its group-stage match against Palestine on Thursday at 5:00 PM (Muscat time). The team will then face host nation China on Saturday at the same time.<\/p>\n

Under the leadership of experienced coach Talib bin Hilal Al-Thanawi, the technical staff has focused on tactical, technical, and skill-based training to ensure full readiness for the competition. The team aims to recreate the success of the inaugural edition held in Bali in 2008, where Oman won the beach soccer title.<\/p>\n

Asian Beach Games Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sanya 2026 Asian Beach Games features the participation of 1,790 athletes representing 45 Asian National Olympic Committees, competing in 14 sports and 61 events.<\/p>\n

Oman is participating in five sports: beach soccer, beach volleyball, beach handball, athletics, and triathlon. Oman has won 17 medals in the history of the Asian Beach Games, including 6 gold, 4 silver, and 7 bronze medals.<\/p>\n

Athletics Team Arrival<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Oman national athletics team arrives today in Sanya to begin preparations for the competition, which will be held at Phoenix Island from April 23 to 26. Events include the 60m sprint, high jump, long jump, and relay races.<\/p>\n

The team is coached by Mohammed Al-Hooti (sprints) and Imad Seraj (jumps), with Abdullah Al-Jabri as administrator. The squad includes Rashid Al-Asmi, Fatek Bait Qaisan, Mohammed Al-Saadi, Nimir Al-Busaidi, Salem Al-Yaarubi, Azza Al-Yaarubi, and Alia Al-Mughairi.<\/p>\n

Athletics Federation Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n

Retired Brigadier Saeed bin Mohammed Al-Hajri, Chairman of the Oman Athletics Association, described the participation as a key milestone, marking the return of Asian beach sports after several years.<\/p>\n

He explained that the federation\u2019s \u201cChampion Development\u201d strategy aims to diversify athletes\u2019 skills beyond traditional track surfaces to include sand-based events, taking advantage of Oman\u2019s long coastline.<\/p>\n

He added that the preparation program focused on explosive power and balance due to the challenges of running and jumping on sand. Training camps were held in coastal areas such as Seeb and Al-Musannah to simulate competition conditions.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that Oman aims not only to participate but to win medals and achieve personal bests, noting strong competition from countries such as China, Thailand, and India, as well as GCC nations.<\/p>\n

He concluded by stressing the importance of turning achievements into a sustainable sporting culture and expressed hope for establishing a national center for beach sports in Oman, supported by both government and private sector partnerships.<\/p>\n

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Athletics Team Arrives; Beach Soccer Prepares for Palestine match; Oman Beach Handball Opens Against Mongolia and Qatar Today     Muscat: The Oman national beach handball team begins the tournament today, Tuesday, at the 6th Asian Beach Games \u2013 Sanya 2026, hosted in Sanya, China from April 22 to 30, with a match against Mongolia…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-38","9":"description-off"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7893,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7891\/revisions\/7893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ooc.om\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}