For the
second time in a row Uzbekistan won both the men’s and the women’s
competition of the Central Asian Zone of the IHF Trophy. From 13 to 17
December, the city of Namangan in Uzbekistan hosted this edition of the Central
Asian Zone.
The results
of the women’s competition were not surprising as Uzbekistan dominated the
entire tournament. They convincingly won all of their three preliminary round
matches with Turkmenistan being the most challenging opponent in a match that
ended 39:16 (20:6). As Turkmenistan were the second best team in the
preliminary round, they got the chance to play against the hosts in the final
which they lost once again, this time 6:30 (4:13). In the bronze medal match,
Tajikistan defeated Kirgizstan by 15:8 (8:4).
The men’s
competition was played on a round-robin basis and hosts Uzbekistan, together
with their neighbours from Kazakhstan, were the favourites to win the
competition. Both of them won their first three matches and thus the winners of
the zone were decided on the final day. In a very tense match, Uzbekistan
managed to narrowly beat Kazakhstan with 27:24 after a half-time score of
12:11. Turkmenistan came in third while Tajikistan and Kirgizstan ranked fourth
and fifth respectively.
On the
fringes of the competition, a course for coaches and referees was organised by
the International Handball Federation. The coaches’ course was headed by Mr
Igor Shestakov (RUS), while Mr Sandor Andorka (HIUN) was in charge of
refereeing matters.
A full
summary of the results can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: