HANDBALL – Bahrain’s senior men’s handball national team are set to play three high-profile international games as part of the 52nd edition of the Yellow Cup – dubbed the biggest handball tournament in Switzerland.
The competition is scheduled to be held from tomorrow until Saturday, and the nationals are making their debut in the event. They are taking part as they continue their preparations for the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship.
The continental tiff takes place January 15 to 29 in Kuwait City, and it will act as the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) qualifier for the 30th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship, to be held in Germany from January 13 to 29 in 2027.
This year’s Yellow Cup also features North Macedonia, Ukraine, and hosts Switzerland. The Bahrainis open their campaign against North Macedonia tomorrow at 10.30pm.
They then take on the Swiss on Friday at 10.15pm, and then complete their campaign against Ukraine on Saturday at 5.30pm. All times are Bahrain.
The kingdom’s representatives are currently already in Europe, where they played two friendly games over the past couple of days against Portugal, who were fourth overall in the previous edition of the IHF Men’s Handball World Championship, held last year.
The Yellow Cup is a regular fixture on the Swiss national team’s calendar. It was first played in 1972. All games this coming weekend will be held at Winterthur Central Sports Hall.
Bahrain head coach Robert Hedin from Sweden has a 19-player side for their European foray, led by inspirational captain Hussain Al Sayyad.
Other players on the roster are Mohammed Abdulhussain, Mohammed Habib Ahmed, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Hassan Al Samaheeji, Hussain Mahfoudh, Jaffar Abdulshaheed, Mohammed Hameed, Hesham Ahmed, Salman Al Showaikh, Qassim Qamber, Ahmed Redha, Sayed Ali Basem, Hassan Madan, Ahmed Almaqabi, Ali Mahmood, Jassim Khamis, Ali Redha, and Ali Alasheeri.
Bahrain – gold medal winners from last year’s sixth Islamic Solidarity Games – are one of 15 nations from across Asia set to hit the court in the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship.
They will be playing in Group B for the preliminary round alongside Iraq, China, and Jordan. Group A features defending champions Qatar, South Korea, and Oman; Group C is composed of the UAE, Hong Kong, India, and hosts Kuwait; and Group D comprises Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Japan, who were the silver-medallists from the previous edition.
The nationals open their campaign against Jordan on January 16, and then play China on January 18. They then complete the opening round against Iraq on January 20.
Following this single round-robin, the top two teams from each group move on to the main round, where they will be divided into two further groups.
After another round, the semi-finalists will be determined, who will clash on January 27. All four teams in this stage will also book their berths in the worlds in 2027.
The gold and bronze medal games are then set for January 29.
The teams who do not qualify for the main stage will compete in the consolation bracket for the Martyr Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah Cup.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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