Egypt is the first finalist in the boys’ competition at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. After beating Qatar 34:26 (15:14) on Sunday, the Africans keep their unbeaten record in Nanjing, winning their third straight game.

Like in 2010, when they defeated France in the semi and later-on beat Korea in the final, Egypt will play for gold on Monday, while the debutants from Qatar are part of the bronze final. Their respective competitors will be decided in the second semi, the all-European clash of Slovenia and Norway.

 

 

Boys’ tournament, semi-final:

Egypt – Qatar 34:26 (15:14)

Like in their previous matches in Nanjing, top scorer Ali Refaat (9 goals) and goalkeeper Mohamed Eltayar (13 saves) were the key figures for the finally clear success of the defending Youth Olympic Games champions. On the other hand, YOG debutants Qatar were a competitor on eye level until the middle of the second half, their best scorer was Amine Guehis by seven goals.

Egypt started clearly better, leaving Qatar behind by 11:6 after 18 minutes, but the Asian champions recovered and improved, nearly bridging the gap until the break (14:15). And until the score of 18:20 the Qatari youngster could dream of a huge sensation and to turn the semi-final around – but then they lacked power and precision in attack. Latest when increasing the gap to 31:25 six minutes before the end, Egypt was confirmed as the winner and finalists.