HANDBALL – Bahrain face off with India today as they get their title bid underway in the 11th AHF Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship in Amman, Jordan.
The kingdom’s youth men’s handball national team are two-time former champions in the under-19 continental tournament.
They are in Group A for the preliminary round of this year’s 10-nation event, which is being organised and run by the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) in cooperation with the Jordan Handball Federation.
Prior to today’s start of action, the pre-tournament technical meeting was held yesterday, chaired by Bahrain Olympic Committee board member, Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) president, and AHF vice-president Ali Issa Eshaqi.
During the gathering, which was attended by Bahrain’s delegation head and BHF official Ismael Baqer, the participating teams’ uniforms were presented and approved.
This year’s AHF Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship also serves as qualification for the 12th IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship, with the top four securing their places in the worlds, taking place July 29 to August 9 in 2027.
Bahrain and India are joined in their division by South Korea, Uzbekistan, and hosts Jordan.
Group B is composed of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, and Syria.
Following their contest today against India, which is scheduled for a 6pm start, Bahrain time, at Princess Sumaya Hall at the Jordanian capital, the Bahrainis next face the home team tomorrow at 8pm.
The nationals then lock horns with Uzbekistan on Sunday at 12noon, before playing their concluding fixture of this phase against South Korea on Wednesday next week at 4pm. All times are Bahrain.
Following a single round-robin, the top four from each pool march through to the quarter-finals, which will be held on August 28.
The semis are then scheduled for the following evening, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on August 31.
Classification contests will also be held on the tournament’s concluding days.
Bahrain, coached by Egyptian tactician Mohamed Abdelrahman Soliman, have a 16-player squad in Amman.
The roster includes pivots Ali Adel, Sayed Mahmoud, and Shubar Jaafar Al Zain; playmakers Wadih Hilal and Ahmed Abdulla; left-wingers Mohammed Al Marzooq and Sayed Ali Bashar; right-wingers Mahmood Ali and Issa Al Babour; left backs Hassan Saif, Hussain Qassim, and Sayed Omran Almuhafdha; right backs Mahdi Jaafar and Sayed Majeed Almuhafdha; and goalkeepers Ali Almahroos and Ali Abdulelah.
The Bahrainis are competing in the AHF Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship for the 10th time.
Their previous title victories came on back-to-back occasions in 2016 and in 2018, while they also took the bronze medals in 2010.
Aside from their podium appearances, Bahrain had also placed in the top five in each of their six other participations.
This year’s tournament was originally set to feature 12 youth men’s national teams, but Japan and Chinese Taipei made last-minute withdrawals.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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