HANDBALL – BAHRAIN take on Iran today in the quarter-finals of the 19th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, currently being played in the Chinese city of Chuzhou.
The kingdom’s squad are in the tournament’s knockout phase after finishing second in preliminary Group A, having won four of their five fixtures.
Their fixture against Iran, who were third in Group B, is scheduled for 7am, Bahrain time, at Chuzhou International Handball Hall.
The other games in the elite eight will see the UAE take on hosts China at 9am, Group A winners Saudi Arabia battle Kuwait at 11am, and Group B victors South Korea go up against Chinese Taipei at 1pm. All times are Bahrain.
Today’s quarters will be followed by the semi-finals tomorrow, which will then set the match-ups for the gold and bronze medal games on the championship’s closing day on Monday. Classification contests are also slated on the last two days of the knockouts.
Bahrain’s junior men are looking to win the continental crown for only the second time, having captured gold in the 1998 edition. They have climbed the podium in each of its three previous editions, winning silver in 2022 and capturing bronze both in 2018 and 2024. The nationals also secured silver in 1994.
Aside from playing for a place in the last four, Bahrain and the other quarter-finalists will also be hoping to secure their berths in the 26th IHF Men’s U21 Handball World Championship.
The Asian competition also acts as a qualifier for the worlds, which are to be held from June 23 to July 4 next year in North Macedonia, with all four semis participants earning their spots.
Bahrain are coached by Hussam Madan, and their roster in Chuzhou includes Ali Almahroos, Ahmed Alsamaheeji, Sayed Majeed Almuhafda, Abbas Ali, Ahmed Eid, Ahmed Abdulla, Mahdi Ali, Salman Alshowaikh, Mahmood Yusuf, Hasan Saif, Sayed Ahmed Alfalahi, Mohammed Aadam, Abuthar Yateem, Ali Jadeed, Fadhel Ebrahim, and Haidar Salman.
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