Qatar has won a bid to host Asian men's handball qualifiers for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, set to be held in the Qatari capital for the first time in November, it was announced Saturday.
The GCC State defeated South Korea by a unanimous decision during a meeting of the Asian Handball Federation's executive committee, which also approved Japan's bid to host the Asian women's handball qualifiers, and Kazakhstan's bid to host Asian women's junior handball qualifiers.
Ahmad Al-Shaabi, President of the Qatar Handball Association, described, in a press statement, his country's winning the Asian bid as a "huge honor" for Qatar and the Qatari handball community.
He said this win is due to several significant achievements by the game of handball in Qatar, as well as International federations' "huge confidence" in Qatar in hosting events for various sports.
Source: BNA