GCC GAMES – BAHRAIN have named their final 19-player squad that will be going for gold in the men’s handball tournament at the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar.
The multi-sport meeting officially gets underway this evening with the opening ceremony at Al Shaqab Indoor Arena in the Qatari capital, while action in the men’s handball competition begins this Thursday.
The Bahrainis, coached by Swedish tactician Robert Hedin, will be spearheaded by their star veterans Hussain Al Sayyad, Mohammed Abdulhussain, and Mohammed Habib Ahmed, while the rest of the kingdom’s talented roster features Mohammed Habib Naser, Ahmed Jalal, Mohammed Hameed, Jassim Khamis, Ahmed Redha, Hesham Ahmed, Ali Alasheeri, Salman Al Showaikh, Ali Mahmood, Ali Redha, Jaafar Al Fursan, Sayed Ali Basim, Hussain Mahfoudh, Ahmed Taleb, Ahmed Eid and Abdulla Abdulkarim.
Handball is one of 18 sports at this year’s GCC Games. The others are archery, athletics, 3x3 basketball, billiards, bowling, boxing, equestrian, fencing, handball, karate, padel, shooting, snooker, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.
The national team list was announced by the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF). The Bahrainis have been gearing up for their medal bid with training at the BHF Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex under the supervision of Hedin and his staff.
The men’s handball tournament will be played in league format. Bahrain begin their campaign against Kuwait on Friday. They then take on Saudi Arabia on Monday next week, before facing off with Qatar the following evening. The nationals will then face off with the UAE in their concluding assignment on May 21.
All their games are scheduled for 6.30pm throw-offs, Bahrain time, and they will be played at Doha’s Al Duhail Sports Hall.
Bahrain are expected to be amongst the leading contenders in men’s handball at the GCC Games. They have appeared on the podium in each of the three previous editions, headlined by their title-winning run in the inaugural GCC Games hosted by the kingdom in 2011.
They then finished as silver-medallists in the two last events – including in 2015 in Dammam, Saudi, and in 2022 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
The Bahrainis will be looking to continue their recent sensational form, which have included historic title triumphs in two major international competitions.
In January earlier this year, they claimed the kingdom’s first-ever gold medals in the Asian Men’s Handball Championship, held in Kuwait City in its 22nd edition. They had previously finished the continental tournament as runners-up five times in the past, and had never captured the crown – until this year.
Along with their Asian championship, Bahrain also booked their berth in the 30th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship, to be held in Germany from January 13 to 29 next year.
Meanwhile, to add to their Asian success, the nationals had also struck gold for the first time ever in the Islamic Solidarity Games, which held its 2025 edition in Riyadh, Saudi, in November of last year.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))