Saudi Arabia Qualifies for 2025 Junior World Handball Championship

The Saudi team's path to the world championship was sealed with a victory over Oman. (SPA)
The Saudi team's path to the world championship was sealed with a victory over Oman. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Qualifies for 2025 Junior World Handball Championship

The Saudi team's path to the world championship was sealed with a victory over Oman. (SPA)
The Saudi team's path to the world championship was sealed with a victory over Oman. (SPA)

The Saudi junior handball team secured qualification for the 2025 edition of the Men's Junior World Championship in Poland after their victory in the 18th Asian Men's Junior (U21) Handball Championship in Amman, Jordan.

The Saudi team's path to the world championship was sealed with a victory over Oman, defeating them with a score of 37-23 in the final round of Group 2. The championship was exclusively for players born in 2004 and later and runs until July 25.

The Saudi team solidified their place in the global tournament by advancing to the semifinals and securing a second-place finish in Group 2.

They overcame Oman in the third and final round, won over Iran in the previous match, but faced a setback in the first round against Japan.

This feat marks the Saudi junior team's fifth qualification for the World Championship after previous showings in 1979, 1997, 2017, and 2023.



North Korean Athletes Leave for Paris Olympics

FILE outdated photo of members of North Korean women's ice hockey team - AFP
FILE outdated photo of members of North Korean women's ice hockey team - AFP
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North Korean Athletes Leave for Paris Olympics

FILE outdated photo of members of North Korean women's ice hockey team - AFP
FILE outdated photo of members of North Korean women's ice hockey team - AFP

North Korean athletes left for the Paris Olympics on Saturday, AFP reporters saw, as they prepared to take part in the summer Games for the first time in eight years.

The athletes posed for photos at Pyongyang airport, wearing white blazers adorned with their national flag and badges featuring their former leaders.

Around 16 North Korean athletes are expected to compete in around seven Olympic events in Paris, including boxing and table tennis, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

North Korea's culture and sports minister Kim Il Guk was part of the delegation heading to Paris on Saturday.

Thousands of athletes have begun flying into the French capital ahead of the July 26-August 11 event.

The nuclear-armed North did not send a delegation to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- which were delayed to 2021 because of the coronavirus -- due to concerns over the pandemic.

The country was banned from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, after it failed to take part in Tokyo in 2021.

North Korea won two gold medals at the Rio Olympics in 2016 -- the last time it participated in the summer Games.

Rim Jong Sim won in women's weightlifting and Ri Se Gwang scored gold in men's vault.