Bahrain names squad for U-17 handball championship

Bahrain have announced their 18-player roster for the inaugural Asian Men’s U-17 Handball Championship, which kicks off tomorrow in Amman, Jordan.

The tournament also serves as the continental qualifier for the IHF Men’s U-17 Handball World Championship, scheduled in Morocco from October 24 to November 1. The top two teams from the Asian event will secure spots at the world championship.

The Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) selected Mahdi Fateel, Sayed Majeed Al Muhafaza, Wadih Hilal, Sayed Mahmoud Basem, Issa Babour, Sayed Ali Bashar, Ali Adel, Abdulla Hussain, Hassan Saif, Ahmed Abdulla, Ali Mahrous, Sayed Omran Al Muhafaza, Jaafar Al Zain, Hussain Qasim, Mohammed Hilal, Mahmood Ali, Sayed Noah Mohammed, and Mohammed Al Marzouq.

The team departs for Amman today, led by BHF national teams director Ismail Baqer and coached by Egyptian head coach Mohammed Abdelrahman, with assistant Akbar Al Marzouq and other officials accompanying the delegation.

Bahrain is one of 13 cadet national teams participating. They will compete in Group A, alongside Hong Kong and Kuwait. Other groups are: Group B – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China; Group C – Jordan, Chinese Taipei, India; and Group D – South Korea, Iran, the Maldives, Syria. Syria replaced Uzbekistan, who withdrew after the tournament was rescheduled from July to September.

Bahrain opens their campaign on Tuesday against Hong Kong at 11am, before concluding the preliminary round against Kuwait on Wednesday at 1pm (both times Bahrain).

Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each group advance to the main round, which will determine the semi-finalists on September 23. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for September 25. Teams that do not advance will compete in a lower-tier contest for the Martyr Fahad al Ahmad Al Sabah Cup, deciding positions nine through 13.