Bahrain Learn Asian Handball Fate After Draw

TDT | Manama

Email: hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

Robert Hedin names 26-man squad for championship

Bahrain’s men’s national handball team will face a tough campaign ahead after the official draw for the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship placed them in Level 1 alongside hosts Kuwait, defending champions Qatar, and Japan.

The draw took place last night in Kuwait City, confirming the groups and pitting Bahrain against some of the continent’s strongest sides. The event, running from January 15 to 29 next year, will also double as the qualifying pathway for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship in Germany, with the top four teams securing their places.

Hedin, who took charge of the national side this summer, now faces the task of moulding a unit capable of matching the region’s best. Training sessions are currently being held at Barbar Club, as the squad builds rhythm and sharpness before heading to Bosnia and Herzegovina later this week for their external camp.

Squad list:

Hussain Al Sayyad (captain), Mohammed Abdulhussain, Mohammed Habib Ahmed, Hassan Al Samaheeji, Hassan Madan, Hussain Mahfoodh, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Mujtaba Al Zaimour, Hassan Mirza, Qassim Qambar, Jassim Khamis, Mohammed Hameed, Mahmoud Hussain, Ali Redha, Ahmed Redha, Jaafar Abdulshaheed, Ali Mahmoud, Hesham Ahmed, Ali Al Asheeri, Hussain Abdulla, Mahmoud Jaleel, Mu’ayyad Samir, Abdulla Abdulkarim, Ali Al Madani, Al Sayed Mahmoud Al Falahi, and Salman Al Showaikh.

The team will depart for Bosnia on Saturday for a two-week camp that includes friendlies against both the Bosnian national team and a European club, before returning home to finalise preparations for the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh next month.

Attention now turns to how quickly Bahrain can knit together under Hedin’s guidance, with January’s championship offering an early measure of his impact.