It was a nail-biting semifinal between Qatar and Kuwait. After an incredible comeback, Qatar managed to edge a 27–25 win in overtime. The victory sends the reigning champions back to the final once again.
Qatar has dominated Asian handball for the last decade, having won the championship six consecutive times. Naturally, they were big favorites heading into the semifinal against underdogs Kuwait.
But Kuwait, who were eliminated by Qatar in the semifinals of the previous tournament, were out for revenge. In the first half, they shocked a Qatar side that looked as if they had underestimated their opponents.
Kuwait got full effect from their defense and held the reigning champions to just eight goals in the first half. Having scored thirteen themselves, Kuwait put themselves in a position where an upset looked possible.
Qatar came out with different energy in the second half and quickly cut the lead down to three goals. But despite the momentum, they still struggled offensively, and after a period where they failed to score, Kuwait restored their big lead.
With less than ten minutes left, Abdullah Alkhamees put Kuwait up 22–16. At that point, it looked like the upset was going to happen and Qatar were heading for a shocking elimination.
But in that moment, they showed their quality and winning mentality. In the final eight minutes, they completely shut down Kuwait’s offense, keeping them scoreless for the remainder of the game. That made a 6–0 run possible, with Abdulrazzaq Murad tying the game 22–22 in the final minute.
The game went to overtime, where despite their best efforts, Kuwait couldn’t keep up with Qatar’s quality. Ahmad Madadi, who scored nine goals in the game, stepped up as Qatar secured yet another return to the final.
There they will face Bahrain, who qualified after an impressive 35–25 win over Japan.