Saudi Arabia’s Al-Khaleej defeated Australian team Sydney University 35-21 on day 2 of the International Handball Federation Super Globe 2022 in Dammam on Wednesday night.
The victory in their opening game in Group A was the first win by either of the two Saudi teams competing in the tournament. The other one, Mudhar, later lost 39-27 to SL Benfica of Portugal. It was their second straight loss, after a defeat on Tuesday in their opening Group B match against Al-Ahly of Egypt, the reigning African champions.
Organized by the Saudi Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Arabian Handball Federation, the tournament features 12 teams and continues until Oct. 23. This year marks the 15th, and largest, staging of the championship, which was launched in 1997.
Al-Khaleej led Sydney 14-10 at half time and ramped up their dominance after the break to win by a comfortable margin.
In the last match of the evening, Mudhar trailed 14-10 at the break and were unable to overcome the deficit in the second half against strong European opponents who pulled further ahead.
In Wednesday’s other matches, Esperance of Tunisia defeated Club Ministros of Mexico 46-21 in Group D, while Kielce of Poland defeated Al-Kuwait Club 47-26 in Group C.