HANDBALL – BAHRAIN were drawn in a pair of tough groups yesterday for two highly competitive continental age-group tournaments, taking place in the upcoming summer months.
The kingdom’s under-21 handball national team were slotted into Group A for the 19th Asian Men’s Junior Championship, scheduled to be held from July 15 to 26 in Chuzhou, China.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s under-19 handball national squad were drawn in Group B for the 11th Asian Men’s Youth Championship, slated for August 10 to 21 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The draws for both events were held yesterday by the Asian Handball Federation (AHF).
Bahrain’s under-21 nationals will be going up against Saudi Arabia, Oman, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and hosts China in the preliminary round of their continental competition, which is set to feature 13 participating countries.
Group B is composed of defending champions Japan, South Korea, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, India and the UAE.
The junior tournament is also set to act as the AHF qualifier for the 26th IHF Men’s U21 Handball World Championship, to be held from June 23 to July 4 next year in North Macedonia.
Bahrain’s junior men have climbed the podium in each of the three previous editions of the continental affair, winning silver in 2022 and capturing bronze both in 2018 and 2024.
The Bahrainis have already begun gearing up for the tournament under the supervision of head coach Hussam Madan and his staff, which includes former senior men’s handball national team star Jaafar Abdulqader. Their practices are being held at the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
The nationals are scheduled to travel to Doha, Qatar, for a week-long overseas camp this month, following an invitation from the Qatar Handball Association. They are expected to play a series of international friendly games while at the Qatari capital, according to the BHF.
For the kingdom’s under-19 national team, they are set to face defending champions Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Hong Kong in Group B of the preliminaries in their tournament in Uzbekistan, which will be composed of 11 nations.
Group A features Saudi, Iran, Chinese Taipei, China and the host Uzbeks.
The championship will also be an AHF qualifier for the 12th IHF Men’s U19 Handball World Championship, slated for July 29 to August 9 in 2027 at a yet-to-be-announced host venue.
Bahrain were back-to-back Asian youth champions in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the tournament, but could not crack the top four in the two previous competitions in 2022 and 2024.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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