Can Qatar use home advantage to break Europe's domination of the World Handball Championships?

Have Qatar got the potential to upset the European sides and add to their continental successes of 2014? (QatarHandball2015.com)

By Steven Oldham

The men's World Handball Championships start this Thursday in Qatar and the host nation look the most capable outside bet to end Europe's total domination of this competition.

All 23 previous world titles have gone to European teams since the Championships began in 1938. Spain are the reigning champions having made the most of home advantage two years ago, but France - current European and Olympic champions - go into the tournament as favourites.

While much has been made of Qatar's suitability to hold the FIFA 2022 World Cup, handball is a sport in which their reputation and trophy cabinet are growing in equal measure.

Under Valero Rivera López - who coached Spain to their world title triumph two years ago - they won both the Asian Championships and Asian Games in 2014.

The hosts are ranked fifth favourites behind France, Spain, Denmark and Croatia - and will need to maintain the same sort of free-scoring form that took them to continental success last year to stand a chance of matching these lofty expectations.

For Qatar, a home tournament gives them ample opportunity to record their best ever performance at a World Championships - they've made the knockout rounds once before - and failure to qualify from the group stages this time is unthinkable.

The 24 team tournament consists of four groups of six, with the top four from each group qualifying to a straight knockout format. After being paired with Spain, Slovenia, Belarus, Brazil and Chile, the Qataris stand a good chance of securing a winnable tie in the last 16.

Home advantage is well proven to be a true phenomenon in sport and handball is no exception. Germany, Sweden, France and Spain have all won titles on their own turf, while Tunisia have only ever got anywhere near the semi finals once - when they hosted the tournament back in 2005 - eventually finishing fourth.

Realistically, Qatar will find it difficult to topple the real big boys, even in Lusail or Doha. That they are being spoken about in the same breath as these teams however is testament to their massive improvement in recent years. It will also be an interesting side note to see how Rivera López sets Qatar up to face his old team Spain, who still include many of his title winning team within their squad.

Artist's impression of the new 15,300 seater Lusail Multipurpose Hall
(QatarHandball2015.com)

The bid to host this tournament four years ago was well received by fellow International Handball Federation members and they beat other bids from the French, Poland and Norway to secure another entry in the ever-growing scrapbook of sporting events held in the Gulf state.  The purpose-built, 15,300 capacity Lusail Multipurpose Hall is the focal point for this tournament and will see the first action of the Championships' between the hosts and Brazil on Thursday.

The Championships remain frustratingly Europe-centric however, with the next edition in two years in France followed by the 2019 tournament which will be jointly held by Denmark and Germany. Both France and Germany have hosted the tournament since the turn of the century. 

In this respect, handball runs the risk of lagging behind fellow Olympic sports, which are trying to grow outside of their traditional heartlands and develop bigger fanbases worldwide - see the Judo World Championships being held in Astana, Kazakhstan later this year.

Moving back to Qatar, their marked improvement means hopes of a first Olympic qualification for Rio 2016 are rising. Momentum appears to be on their side and a creditable showing in the forthcoming competition could act as a springboard to reaching this goal.

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No Olympics? No problem! Championships galore in minority and developing sports in 2015 as road to Rio continues

By Steven Oldham

Even though there's no Olympic Games this year, there is plenty of action to follow in the sports that make up the biggest show on Earth.

Olympic sports will also benefit from the men's World Cup taking place last year - giving them more opportunity for exposure in 2015 as the months and days tick down to Rio 2016.

Throughout the year lots of sports are holding world and continental championships - here are some highlights.

Handball World Championships
Qatar
January 15-February 1

Will Spain be celebrating again in Doha on February 1?
(beforeitsnews.com)

Handball is the latest sport holding a prestigious tournament in Qatar, with the men's  world championships one of the first events of the year for Olympic sports fans.
Teams from 24 nations will contest the title, including current champions Spain, who made the most of home advantage two years ago and will be looking to seal their position as top dog with Rio 2016 now just 18 months away.
Reigning Olympic and European champions France will also surely be a force to reckoned with, having reclaimed their continental title last year in Denmark.
Having won the Asian Championship for the first time last year, the hosting Qataris should be quietly confident of achieving their best result to date.
The women's tournament takes place in Denmark in December and the majority of places are still to be determined via qualifiers.


FIFA Women's World Cup
Canada
June 6-July 5

Japan's Azusa Iwashimizu, who scored the goal
that sealed her country's first Asian Cup win
(zimbio.com)

The rise in interest in women's football should continue in 2015 with what is likely to be the most watched and talked about World Cup to date.  The tournament has grown to 24 teams for the first time, and as such will follow an awkward route to get to the neat 16/8/4/2 system that works best, with the best four third placed teams in the group stages advancing to the knockout rounds.
Host nation Canada start the proceedings against China on June 6, and all four previous winners (most recent champions Japan, Germany, USA and Norway) have qualified again. The expansion of the tournament will see one third of the teams making their World Cup debuts.
Holders Japan go into the tournament with high hopes following an inaugural Asian Cup win last year, finally winning after being the bridesmaids on four occasions.
Two-times winners Germany qualified for the tournament with ease, winning all 10 games and finishing with an impressive goal difference of +58, while fellow double champions USA will be looking to win a first title since 1999.
 

World Table Tennis Championships
China
April 26-May 3

China's Zhang Jike will be looking to retain his world title on home turf

'Odd' years see table tennis players aiming for individual and doubles titles at the world championships, as opposed to 'even' years which now play host to the team event.
This year the tournament returns to China for a fifth time, this time in the eastern city of Suzhou.  It's hard to look past a highly successful tournament for players from the host nation, and indeed from Asia. At the last edition in Paris two years ago, not one medal escaped to another continent.
Home advantage is likely to play into Chinese hands, who boast the current Olympic and World champions Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia in the men's and women's events respectively. Competition for the holders is likely to come from within; Jike had a poor year by his standards in 2014 and is below countrymen Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in the ITTF rankings following successive early exits in big competitions.
Beaten in the final two years ago, Liu Shiwen is now higher than Xiaoxia in the world rankings and won the Asian Games last year. They both trail Ding Ning however, who took victory in both the World Cup and Asian Cup in a successful 2014.

World Weightlifting Championships
USA
November 20-29

Albania's Daniel Godelli on his way to gold in Kazakhstan last year

This year's World Weightlifting Championships - to be held in Houston - is also doubling up as a qualifier for Rio 2016. Performance in this tournament - and the 2014 event - are the most important for the various National Olympic Committees as the majority of places for the Games will be decided by lifters' performance in these tournaments. Athletes' performance will directly influence the number of places available to their NOC, and the likelihood of them being selected for Rio. There are further chances to qualify individually, but a strong showing on the world stage will surely give them an advantage. At last year's Worlds in Kazakhstan, Asian nations proved to be the teams to beat with China, North Korea and the host nation winning 11 of the 15 gold medals available between them. Russia's performance dramatically dropped off compared to the year before - winning just one gold compared to six in 2013 - it will be interesting to see which nations' lifters will build momentum heading into the final months before Rio.

IPC Swimming World Championships
Scotland
July 13-19

Will Great Britain's Ellie Simmonds repeat her London 2012 success?

Glasgow is again set to welcome swimmers from across the globe one year on from the Commonwealth Games as the biggest Paralympic swimming meet outside the Games lands in Scotland this summer.
Around 650 swimmers from over 50 countries will take part in the Championships and a good performance here could prove a launch pad for these athletes for next year's Paralympic Games.
Great Britain's golden girl Ellie Simmonds will provide the star attraction for a partisan crowd, and the seven time world and four time Paralympic champion will be keen to add to her medal haul on home turf.

There are too many world and continental championships to mention in one blog - ice hockey, judo, fencing, gymnastics and pentathlon to name but five are all searching for new world champions this year. Keep an eye on my blog nearer to the time for more features on these and other events.

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Tennis: Three seeds with tough opening matches at Wimbledon

By Steven Oldham

The first round of Wimbledon always throws up surprises with seeded players being knocked out by relative unknowns and those lower in the rankings.

Whether rising stars or seasoned pros dropping down the rankings, the courts of SW19 are often a great leveller for the unseeded players.

This year's draw has revealed some interesting first round ties and some seeds have been handed far more difficult ties than they would like. I've picked three who would probably have liked an easier start to the tournament than they are likely to get.

Gentlemen's Singles:

Marcel Granollers (30) vs Nicolas Mahut

Doubles specialist Marcel Granollers could be in danger of an early exit after being drawn against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The two men have never played head to head before so there is no past form to go on, but the Spaniard's past form at Wimbledon is poor. In seven attempts, he has only been past the opening round twice - and on both of those occasions he was eliminated in the second round. His best results consistently come on clay, whereas Mahut's favoured surface is grass.  He is already part of Wimbledon folklore for his role in the longest match in history with John Isner in 2010.  He comes into the tournament in relatively poor form, having been knocked out in several tournaments by lower ranked players, but he has the grass court technique and smarts to unsettle Granollers and make the next round.

Marathon man Nicolas Mahut (@WilsonTennis)

Andreas Seppi (25) vs Leonardo Mayer

Argentina's Leonardo Mayer is in danger of being one of the forgotten players of his generation having shown much promise early in his career. He has yet to better his achievements from 2010 in any of the Grand Slams, with his best performance coming in the US Open where he reached the third round. This year however he has been unlucky, with matches against members of the 'big four' in the two Grand Slams - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal knocked him out of the Australian and French Opens respectively. All three of his matches againt Seppi have been losing efforts on clay, but the Italian hasn't been in great form, with surprise losses against the likes of Michael Llodra, Donald Young and Denis Istomin since the turn of the year. He should have too much for Mayer, but it wouldn't be the first time he has fallen to supposed lesser opposition.

Can Andreas Seppi tough it out over Leo Mayer? (@WeAreTennis)

Ladies' singles:

Sloane Stephens (19) vs Maria Kirilenko

Russia's Maria Kirilenko continues her long comeback from a knee injury against Sloane Stephens in the first round at Wimbledon. She will be hoping for an improvement on last year, where she was eliminated in the first round by Laura Robson, a match which saw her lose her top ten ranking. It was the beginning of a rapid slide down the listings for Kirilenko, whose injury problems destroyed the latter half of last year and caused her to miss the Australian Open. She had shown much promise in the first half of 2013, recording victories over top tier players including Sabine Lisicki and Petra Kvitova on her way to the top ten for the first time. She has the talent to beat Stephens, but if her troublesome knee will allow her to do so is another matter. The American - six years Kirilenko's junior - has won the only previous meeting between the two. She made the quarter finals last year before losing to eventual winner Marion Bartoli but arguably did not come up against an opponent of Kirilenko's quality in the four rounds before that game.



Can Maria Kirilenko upset Sloane Stephens? (@WTA)



World Cup: Spain 1-5 Netherlands: Robben and RVP run riot as Spanish capitulate

Spain 1-5 Netherlands

                                    Alonso (27)

                                                                  Van Persie (44,72)

                                                                  Robben (53,80)

                                                                  de Vrij (64)

By Steven Oldham

A five star performance from the Netherlands destroyed reigning champions Spain in the opening match of Group B in Salvador.
Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben both scored twice, with defender Stefan de Vrij scoring his first international goal amongst the rout.
Spain had taken the lead from the penalty spot through Xabi Alonso after de Vrij brought down Diego Costa in the box.
Dutch keeper Jasper Cillessen went the right way, but Alonso's coolly taken spot kick gave the champions the lead.
Van Persie started the comeback with a brilliant headed goal from a perfect left-sided Daley Blind cross just before half time, giving Iker Casillas no chance in the Spanish goal.
Robben doubled the lead on 53 minutes, controlling the ball and outmanouevring both Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique before slotting the ball home.
From that point on the Netherlands were clinical as their opponents fell apart from front to back.
De Vrij gave the Dutch their third from a free kick, despite protests from Casillas who looked to be fouled in the build up.
Van Persie netted his second after a howler from Casillas who was far to casual in dealing with a routine backpass. The striker won the ball off the Real Madrid man to hit shellshocked Spain with a fourth.
Robben completed the rout with a wonderful solo goal, running straight at Pique and Ramos, bamboozling the pair, rounding Casillas and firing home to seal a highly impressive win for the Dutch.

Robin Van Persie scores the equaliser (@ForevrUntd)

It could have been much worse for the Spanish - Van Persie's volley hit the woodwork and Wesley Sneijder had a decent attempt saved early on.
Spain did get the ball in the net at 3-1, but the David Silva's goal was disallowed due to the Manchester City man being offside.
Brazilian born Spain striker Diego Costa - who switched loyalties last year - was roundly booed throughout and made little impact in the game. He was lucky to stay on the pitch following a headbutting incident with defender Bruno Martins Indi, though the Dutchman did make the most of what was minimal contact.
Spain looked mentally and physically broken by the end of the match, and both Robben and Sneijder came close to adding to their misery. Fernando Torres summed up their night by missing an easy tap in at the end of the game.
Netherlands now move on to face Australia in buoyant mood, while Spain have a trickier looking tie against Chile to regroup for.
Questions will be asked about the long term future of this Spanish team, and it will be interesting to see how Vincente del Bosque reacts - particularly in goal.
Louis Van Gaal meanwhile couldn't have hoped for a better start - and has ripped the widely accepted belief they would struggle to get out of this group to pieces in 90 minutes.

World Cup 2014: Chile looking to put the heat on Spain and The Netherlands

By Steven Oldham

Friday's rerun of the 2010 Final between Spain and The Netherlands is the headline game in Group B but there is a real chance Chile could spoil the European nations' chances of making the knockout rounds.

Jorge Sampaoli's team head into a South American World Cup with high hopes of making the last 16, and it is not beyond them that they can do it.

Their biggest threat is Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez who racked up an impressive career best 19 goals in just 34 games this season in La Liga.  England fans will need no introduction to the in-form striker; he scored both goals in his country's 2-0 victory at Wembley last year.

He also hit four goals for Chile on the way to Brazil, including in the 2-1 victory over Ecuador in the final round of qualifying games that sealed their place at the World Cup.  Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal managed five goals and will be a threat to opposition defences.



Alexis Sanchez (Kevin Quigley)


An all or nothing approach to qualification took Chile to an impressive nine wins, the same as CONMEBOL group winners Argentina and runners up Colombia. Six defeats though meant they qualified as the third best team.

A win against Australia in their opening game is critical to Chile's chances. It is the best way for them to build momentum for the tougher games ahead.

This World Cup could bear similarities to last time in South Africa for Chile. Again drawn alongside Spain in the group stages, if they do proceed to the last 16 as runners up, they will again be likely to meet Brazil.  They lost 3-0 four years ago and avoiding a similar scoreline on Brazilian soil may prove difficult.

Their attacking style will gain them many neutral fans and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top when they meet a similarly-minded Netherlands team, who hit 34 goals in qualifying. The Dutch have laboured to friendly victories over Wales and Ghana, following a draw with Ecuador and defeat to France in their pre-tournament preparations. They blitzed their qualifying group, winning all but one of their games, but there was no teams in their group who could seriously contend with them.

Spain will rightly begin as favourites but Chile could prove a real thorn in any opponent's side on their day.

World Cup 2014: Could Croatia be a dark horse?

Tahiti: The biggest underdogs in the history of world football

By Steven Oldham

Tomorrow in Belo Horizonte, amateurs Tahiti begin their first ever Confederations Cup campaign against Nigeria with the sole intention of keeping their almost inevitable group stage losses to a respectable level.

That Tahiti are even competing in Brazil is a surprise in itself.  The largest island in French Polynesia won last year's Oceania Nations Cup for the first time to qualify, beating New Caledonia 2-0 in the final.  Regional power, and four times winners,  New Zealand - expected to dominate the competition ever since Australia left the OFC in 2006 - underachieved and finished third having been knocked out in the semis by New Caledonia.

Drawn into Group B alongside Nigeria, Spain, and Uruguay, Tahiti face a daunting task and could score some unwanted records in their three group matches. Australia and Saudi Arabia have both lost by six goals to Brazil (6-0 and 8-2 respectively) in the tournament's history.  I don't feel it's disrespectful to say it would be an achievement for Tahiti to restrict their opponents to single figure victories.  This is the international equivalent of sending Havant & Waterlooville to a tournament including Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Ranked 138th in the world, below the likes of Namibia, Moldova and Vietnam, Tahiti's team includes several graduates from the side that qualified for the Under 20 World Cup four years ago.  There is evidence that Tahiti and the others are closing the gap to New Zealand, beyond the 2012 OFC Nations Cup result .  In the final round of World Cup 2014 qualifying, which New Zealand won to progress to an intercontinental playoff in November, there wasn't as many one-sided results as is common with the Oceania qualifying process.  The All Whites were restricted two-goal margins in all three of their away fixtures. In qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, New Zealand put ten past Tahiti without reply.    

So will any of the Tahiti players cause a shock and make a name for themselves? Unlikely, but their highest profile player is arguably the AS Nancy striker Marama Vahirua, who spent last season on loan in Greece.  He has scored over 70 goals in French football and played for France at under-21 level under Raymond Domenech.  He is the only player in the 23-man squad not to play his football in Tahiti's First Division.  If reports are to believed, they will adopt a 'defence first' approach in Brazil to keep events respectable.     

While it may seem pointless for a team of Tahiti's stature to be involved with some of the world's best teams in Brazil, there is no doubt they have earned their place.  The long term future of the OFC will look a lot stronger if the island nations including Tahiti and New Caledonia continue to improve and challenge New Zealand's position as regional top dog.

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