Handball: Zamalek lose to Ciudad Real in Super Globe opener

Egyptian team is beaten by title holders in the opening game of the IHF Super Globe in Qatar

Zamalek's handball team have lost 33-25 to Spanish champions and title holders Ciudad Realin their IHF Super Globe opener on Saturday.
The Super Globe is an international competition that features the champions from continental federations.
In the tournament's 2010 edition, Zamalek were also defeated by Ciudad in the opener but they went on to qualify for the semi-finals.
Despite the defeat, Zamalek's coaching staff said they were atisfied with the players' performances throughout the game.
“We are happy with our performance against this strong opponent with some of the best European players. I am satisfied with the way we played tactically and physically even as some players seemed to be tired,” Zamalek assistant coach Tarek Lotfi was quoted as saying by the official website of the International Handball Federation (IHF) after the match.
The Cairo giants will be eager to make amends when they take on Qatari Al-Sadd on Sunday in their next game.
“We lacked some concentration at the beginning, so now we have a real final in our next match against Al-Sadd. We need to win to become number two,” Zamalek player Karim Mostafa said.
Ciudad Realcoach Talant Dushebajew admitted that beating the Egyptians was not a simple mission.
“Today we have respect for Zamalek as they are nearly the whole Egyptian national team. It was not easy to beat them,” he explained.
“The match was a good opportunity to start the tournament. Compared to 2010, the IHF Super Globe has improved thanks to stronger opponents like THW Kiel. But this way is good to make a higher level of handball worldwide.”
In the other group game, THW Kiel of Germany beat Lebanese side Al-Sadd 42-18.