JEDDAH: The 2021 IHF Men’s Super Globe opened at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Tuesday as Saudi club Al-Wehda and SC Magdeburg of Germany registered early wins in a handball competition featuring the world’s best.
The 10-team competition, organized by the Saudi Arabian Handball Federation, includes six teams representing the IHF Continental Confederations, reigning champions Barcelona, wild-card entrant Magdeburg, and the two host nation sides, Al-Wehda and Al-Noor.
In the tournament’s opening match, Magdeburg defeated Oceana representatives Sydney University, 32-20, in the qualifier to advance to the quarterfinals.
The second qualifier featured the first Saudi participation as Al-Wehda did not disappoint the home fans. They went on to defeat North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation champions San Francisco CalHeat, 29-20.
The Saudi team dominated the first half and went into the break leading 13-6.
The second half was more even but the home team still outscored its opponent 16-14 after the break to secure a comfortable win. The Saudis advance to a quarterfinals clash with European Handball Federation representative Aalborg Håndbold of Denmark on Wednesday.
Al-Wehda’s Egyptian goalkeeper Amro Abdulsalam was named man of the match.
A spectacular opening ceremony took place in the presence of Saudi Deputy Minister of Sports Badr bin Abdulrahman Al-Qadi who said: “I wish all the success for this wonderful tournament, which is taking place in Jeddah for the first time after being held in Dammam last time. I wish the best for all the teams, and we cannot forget to thank the organizing committee for this tournament.”
