HANDBALL – BAHRAIN’S junior handball national team are set to depart today for Poland to play in the 25th IHF Men’s U21 World Championship 2025.
The competition, run by the International Handball Federation (IHF), is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday and continue until June 29, with the Bahrainis one of 32 squads from five confederations hitting the court.
Bahrain Handball Federation president Ali Issa met with the Bahrainis during a local training session and spoke with the players and coaching staff, led by head tactician Ali Al Falahi. Issa gave words of encouragement and wished them the best in the upcoming competition.
Al Falahi has a squad of 16 of Bahrain’s best junior talent for the under-21 worlds, including Ali Redha, Abbas Hussain, Mohammed Ayyad, Ahmed Al Fardan, Ali Al Madani, Elyas Mohammed, Maitham Ahmed, Abdulla Sameer, Hussain Shawqi, Sayed Mohammed Ali, Sayed Mahmood Ali, Mahmood Jaleel, Salman Al Shuwaikh, Mohammed Maitham, Sayed Hussain Fadhel, and Mohammed Shamloh.
Bahrain are in a tough Group H for the tournament’s preliminary round alongside European giants Spain, African powerhouses Egypt, and fellow-Asian standouts Saudi Arabia.
The Bahrainis are scheduled to begin their campaign on opening day against Spain before taking on Egypt the following day. Their last game of the first stage will then be against Saudi on June 21.
The top two teams from each of the eight groups will move on to the main round, where they will be divided into another four groups of four sides apiece.
That will set the stage for the ensuing quarter-finals, which kick off the knockout rounds to eventually classify the teams from first to 16th, respectively.
The bottom two sides from the four preliminary round groups will play in the President’s Cup bracket, which will determine the teams’ rankings from 17th to 32nd overall at the end of play.
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